Chicken & eggs @ HMP & 20 years later huge cost for trucking water!
Some of the many problems include lack of funding, overcrowding, people who are locked up that should not be there, locals continuing to complain they are being shut out from employment opportunities there and prisoners continuing to face long court delays (frequent and unfair adjournments) in what some have described as a corrupt legal system. There is more, however.
While testifying before the 2016 House of Assembly’s Standing Finance Committee, Superintendent of Prison, United Kingdom national David Foot, who was hired by the controversial Minister for Education and Culture and Territorial At-Large Member Hon Myron V. Walwyn after it was alleged that he forced out a local Mr Charles L. Forbes, brought a number of issues to light.
Where are the chickens & eggs?
A couple of years ago the prison located at Balsam Ghut on the main Island of Tortola got accolades for its successful prison farm programme where they sold meat, vegetables and eggs to many of the local supermarkets.
Mr Foot was asked by the Sixth District Representative Hon Alvera Meduro-Caines during the 2016 Standing Finance Committee (SFC) hearing whether the money made at the farm formed part of the budget.
Mr Foot replied that the money they received from Road Town Wholesale, who purchased their goods, went to the treasury and sometimes a portion of the money received from the sale of pigs and pork were used to cover the cost of food.
In addition, the Superintendent of Her Majesty’s Prison told the SFC that his Department “had some issues with the production of eggs in 2015 and the number of eggs decreased.” Mr Foot said “there were periods when there was a decrease from 90 dozen to 12 dozen per week.”
The Junior Minister for Tourism and Territorial At-Large Member Hon Archibald C. Christian asked if there was a particular reason why there was such a drastic reduction in the production of eggs?
The Superintendent said, “The Prison had to do some remedial work on the pens where the chickens were located, which resulted in the chickens being exposed to the cold.” Mr Foot went on to say “this resulted in a reduction of eggs production as the chickens do not do well when exposed to cold temperatures. In addition, there were problems with obtaining the feed for the chickens and any change in cycle resulted in the chickens becoming unsettled and this affected the chickens’ production of eggs.”
Mr Foot did not provide the details of the cost of the chickens being affected or what happened to the chickens that experienced becoming “unsettled.”
In 2015 HMP racked up over $65,000 in trucking water!
It was in the 2010 Standing Finance Committee Report that Legislators were promised that the problem of having to truck water to the prison would end, however, that never happened. Some 20 years later the prison has not stopped the practice and in 2015 alone some $65,271.17 was spent on trucking water to the prison, according Mr Foot.
History of HMP water!
It was around 1995-96 that a new reservoir was built close to the Prison in Balsam Ghut to help alleviate the water challenges of the recently constructed prison facility. While immediately after the reservoir was commissioned, some 20 years ago, water was still a challenge, work was done to improve the infrastructure by putting in pipes across the Ridge Road area.
Because of lack of water the problem persisted and led to the need to truck water to the prison, costing tax payers millions of dollars over the years.
In 2009, law makers were told by the Water and Sewerage Department that all that was needed to correct the matter were new pumps to get the water up the “Hill to the Prison.” There was also, by 2010, major improvements in water capacity throughout Tortola.
In 2010, a huge amount of funds was expended to install two heavy duty pumps; one at Greenland close to the car wash; and the other in the Upper Greenland area at Jennings Hills. This was expected to correct getting the water up to Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP).
However, from the testimony of Mr Foot the problem remains, as last year despite the two pumps that were installed in 2010 to address the water situation at HMP, water still had to be trucked to the facility, resulting in overspending of the Prison Budget.
What is the issue?
The Superintendent admitted before the SFC that “this was spending outside of the Budget.”
The Leader of the Opposition and Member for the Third District Hon Julian Fraser RA asked about the over $65,000 spent on water and why the prison did not receive water from the municipal supply at the prison or whether there was a leak in the tank.
To this the Superintendent told the Committee, “There is no leak in the tank. It has been cleaned and it was in good order.” Mr Foot, also in his testimony before the SFC, added “there is a large water tank but Water and Sewerage has given them a direct feed so they could bypass the tank.”
HMP comes under the portfolio of the Minister for Education and Culture with some specific security oversight from the Governor.
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16 Responses to “Chicken & eggs @ HMP & 20 years later huge cost for trucking water!”
Crazy use of scarce public funds. Audit whom the water trucks that got paid the bulk of this and follow the money trail! This is a set-up from the time F**** was up there! A certain minister has vested interest in said delivery trucks just like the other members of government whom have interests that are raking in the dough off of the collective public's' back.