PETER O'CONNOR Sunday, August 15 2010

I note with interest that former Works Minister Colm Imbert has announced that he could, after all, do something to prevent the flooding.

What a comment to make after he has been thrown out of office for his failure to do anything about flooding for nine years! Actually, Imbert is also on record as saying that there is nothing that could be done to prevent flooding! He, variously also claimed that he was going to solve the flooding problem in 2006, with a $20 million undefined programme, and then he was going to bring in Dutch experts after alleging, quite erroneously, “that Port-of-Spain is below sea level”. So, which is it, Colm? Or is this just a little grandcharge on your part now that the hiding of the Sirju Report into the fatal collapse of the Caroni River bridge has been exposed?

With the final and long overdue exposure of Reports into the 2008 (August) collapse of the old Bailey bridge over the Caroni River, former Minister of Works, Colm Imbert, who hid the damning reports, is now claiming no personal or Ministerial responsibility. The bridge collapsed, killing one worker while it was being dismantled for removal by the Ministry of Works.

When pressed for the results of the “Full and Transparent” Inquiry, months after it was being concealed from public viewing, he declared that the matter “was before the courts”. This was not so, because (and I contend this!) there is no such action “before the courts”, and no such action has been filed. Therefore the contents of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry should have been in the public domain—no different than the Uff Commission Report. Indeed, the now-exposed OSHA Report into the bridge collapse was also hidden from public view.

It is difficult not to presume that these reports were being concealed to shield the former government from legal action and criticism due to their failure to apply good and safe practice to the dismantling of the bridge.

The Sirju Report into the collapse, called for the immediate inspection of all of the country’s Bailey bridges and other bridges.

What happened? Nothing, because the Report was suppressed, so no action was taken by the Ministry to implement this recommendation—which, incidentally, could have been implemented as a matter of course without reference to Sirju’s concealed Report, in the interest of public safety.

Then in mid November 2008, the bridge over the Macoya River, along the busy CR Highway, collapsed.

The Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT) had engaged contractors to widen this bridge. Why did it collapse while under construction supervised by the MOWT? It collapsed because the contractor failed to follow standard practice in neglecting to build a “cofferdam” around the bridge foundations on the upstream side of the works. According to the MOWT reports, heavy rains caused a flash flood in the Macoya River, and “washed out” the existing bridge foundation, causing the bridge to collapse. No one, including the Minister, was held responsible for failing to protect the foundations, which was a clear breach of standard engineering procedure.

Then in 2009, a bridge in Rampanalgas, on the Toco Main Road, also collapsed while the adjacent, new bridge was under construction. It apparently collapsed while a tracked crane, being used in the works, was crossing the old bridge. Imbert, whose Ministry would have been responsible for approving the contractor’s Method Statement, blamed the contractor. The question needs to be asked: Had the Ministry followed the Sirju (2008) report recommendations—instead of hiding them—might this collapse also have been avoided?

The PNM, must learn to accept the responsibility for how they failed this country. To sit now and throw petty criticisms at the new government who have been saddled with flooding arising out of their failures, even as the government is out in the field instead of blaming God, brands them as the true failures they have been. And if this needed any further confirmation, just check the aerial photos published in Newsday on Thursday, these showing the massive silt build-ups at the mouths of rivers, blocking the flow of water to the sea. Are these your “detention (sic) ponds”, Colm—stretching from the coastline back into Central Trinidad? Sorry to dredge this up after you have been fired by the people, but you should have done the dredging long ago! As I had suggested, I might add!

And with the Sirju Report now in the public domain, I expect to see the bridges examination and upgrades, also ignored by Imbert, to be instituted before any more bridges fail.