By Steve Thomas
Observer Nevis Editor
(Basseterre, St. Kitts) – The leader of the People’s Action Movement is sharply criticizing the Labour Government, charging that last week’s fatal bridge collapse was the result of “gross negligence on the part of persons responsible for the design and construction of the bridge.”
At a press conference earlier this week, PAM leader Lindsay Grant said the Government was not capable of conducting an independent investigation into the cause of the span’s failure.
“The collapse of the bridge, with the death of one worker and injuries to others, is a national outrage which demands immediate and unfettered police investigation into the death of Akil Tony,” Mr. Grant said. “It also warrants immediate, genuinely independent and in-depth investigation of all the circumstances related to the particular incident and into the entire West Basseterre By-Pass project, which includes four other bridges.
“Though the collapse of the bridge calls the design and construction integrity of the entire project profoundly into question, the government has given no indication that it intends to seriously probe this issue.
“Quite to the contrary, the government’s intentions, as declared by the Minister responsible for Public Works at last Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly are inadequate, inappropriate and unacceptable.”
After attacking the Government’s planned inquiry, Mr. Grant said, “What the Denzil Douglas administration has concocted is nothing more than a recipe for a cover-up.”
Vincentian national Allick Toney, 64, was killed, and Guyanese nationals Ian‘Shatta’ Warde and Mortland Watterton, were injured and hospitalized after a bridge being built along the west by-pass road near the Robert Llewelyn Bradshaw Airport roundabout collapsed about 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14.
Work began on the bridge over a year ago and it was due to be finished by August of this year, according to the Hon. Earl Assim Martin, Minister of Public Works, Utilities, Transport and Postal Services.
Mr. Martin was at the accident scene and said the Government would look into the cause of the accident.
“I am really disturbed at what occurred here this morning, the loss of life, the injuries sustained to two workers. We are concerned about that,” Mr. Martin said. “There will be a full and thorough investigation into what went wrong.”
Mr. Grant ended his statement with another call for an independent investigation.
“If the Prime Minister respects the Kittitian and Nevisian people he must immediately call on the Governor General to appoint Commission of Inquiry, with that Commission’s independence guaranteed by suitably qualified persons from outside of the country from outside of CARICOM, to secure independence in the inquiry because of the involvement of public works and other well-known regional intermediaries,” he said.
“Citizens must join voices in rejecting a government cover up and demanding a full Commission of Inquiry into the By-Pass bridge disaster. It must be noted that the government has had several Commissions of Inquiry, including but not limited to the Inquiry on the Police, and these have not been made public. The public demands a full report at the end of this Inquiry,” Mr. Grant said.
