Prime Minister Anthony Tours Agard Lands Development

Contact: John Emmanuel

Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - With the contract for the Agard Lands development having been awarded to construction firm C.O. Williams Limited, infrastructural works have begun in earnest on the project aimed at bringing much needed relief to the scores of residents occupying the Agard Lands. And to get a first hand impression of the scope of the project, Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Kenny Anthony, accompanied by a team of government officials and C.O. Williams personnel, toured the area and held informal talks with residents on Tuesday, August 28, 2001.

According to the Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Communications, Works, Transport and Public Utilities, Dolton Cenac, the works are going to be done in four phases and will include the reconstruction of 9,500 metres of road way and 1,000 metres of concrete drains and other associated retaining structures. So far, he pointed out, some general widening of the road, clearing of the site, reduction of verges, and the application of some sub-base to create a proper running surface for the construction equipment, had been done.

The Prime Minister was pleased with the progress of the works to date.  “It’s a challenging contract. They certainly need a lot of drains and it’s clear that the area is prone to slippage and a number of retaining walls will have to be built, but it’s a very competent contractor and things will work well. What is most pleasing though is the satisfaction of the community. Several persons I’ve spoken to indicated that it was really a serious issue for them. Many could not walk without changing shoes and walking with buckets of water sometimes,” Prime Minister Anthony said.

Meanwhile Member of Parliament for a section of the Agard Lands, the Honourable Philip J. Pierre, and Prime Minister Anthony have both dismissed claims that the timing of the project is associated with politicking and the next general election, due in less than a year.

“The history of this area is that people were sent to live in that area with no roads or (other) infrastructure and that road is just a continuation of some infrastructural development in that area in particular. You would note that we have also improved the lighting. In 1997 lighting was scarce.  We did the work systematically - first lighting, then drainage and now the roads.  It was not possible to do them all at the same time,” said Pierre.

For his part Prime Minister Anthony indicated that St. Lucians have made it absolutely clear that they do not elect governments on the basis of projects. “I would have thought that the history of the Compton regime indicates that.  So any party that is going to rely on projects clearly has missed the point,” he said.

The project is expected to be completed within the next 12 weeks and is costing $1.2 million.  Government is reported to have spent close to one million dollars in purchasing the land.

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