Fifty of the 93 houses on Mayreau have been reconnected to the electricity grid, three months after Hurricane Beryl damaged 90% of the buildings in the Southern Grenadines on July 1.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said this is “very good progress” as he gave an update on NBC Radio on Wednesday.
He said that in Union Island, electricity is available up to the school in Campbell.
The prime minister, however, said that the electrical inspectorate did not pass an area of the school, where the wiring, apparently was not done well.
“… they didn’t feel under any pressure to OK it because we don’t want any danger,” Gonsalves said.
“And the number of electricians available on the island, I’m told, the number doesn’t go beyond one,” he said, adding that the government has to bring in people to help.
He, however, said the government had sent a 50 KV generator because the old generator there had conked out.
Gonsalves noted that the generator is important for several purposes, including pumping the water from the cistern into the big tanks higher up.
The water is then gravity-fed to flush toilets, etc.
In Canouan, over 500 houses have already been inspected and approved, he said, adding that he has been told that 100 houses are on the list for the Electrical Inspectorate.
“We will increase the number of electrical inspectors in order to get all the work done, because they have to do their regular work. Plus, this is, clearly, additional,” Gonsalves said.
The prime minister who has just returned from New York, where he attended the United Nations General Assembly, said he had spoken to Housing Minister Orando Brewster about the housing situation.
“… over 1,000 houses are being worked on. There are mainly levels 1 and 2; some level 3 and 4. HLDC is rolling out in each constituency,” the prime minister said.
“They would have started yesterday, I’m advised, in several of the constituencies dealing with level 3 and level 4.”
There he goes again saying we have almost no qualified electricians. If his eduction revolution is not working, it is not the people’s fault. The fault is his and his alone because education has no direction. You could go from primary school directly to trade school then there would be more qualified people to fill the jobs but no he rather go insulting people than thinking about a solution to the problems. Out with the old welcome to the new.
People need help and all they are getting is long talk and foreign companies earning all the money right under our noses.