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Send photos of blocked drains, damaged infrastructure to PWD- Hon Rymer

- says Public Works Ministry still responding to aftermath of storms which cause ‘significant damages’ to VI
A damaged road at Brewers Bay, Tortola due to Tropical Storm Philippe. Photo: Team of Reporters
Speaking at the Fifth Sitting of The First Session of The Fifth House of Assembly in the Virgin Islands on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, Hon Rymer said the storm brought approximately eight (8) inches of rain, resulting in overwhelming amounts of mud and debris in our guts and waterways where fallen trees, boulders, and mud have also blocked roads and drains across the territory. Photo: HoA/File
Speaking at the Fifth Sitting of The First Session of The Fifth House of Assembly in the Virgin Islands on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, Hon Rymer said the storm brought approximately eight (8) inches of rain, resulting in overwhelming amounts of mud and debris in our guts and waterways where fallen trees, boulders, and mud have also blocked roads and drains across the territory. Photo: HoA/File
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI– Minister for Communications and Works Hon Kye M. Rymer (R5) has revealed that Tropical Storm Philippe, which made landfall on October 3, 2023, caused significant damage to the [British] Virgin Islands' infrastructure.

Speaking at the Fifth Sitting of The First Session of The Fifth House of Assembly in the Virgin Islands on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, Hon Rymer said the storm brought approximately eight (8) inches of rain, resulting in overwhelming amounts of mud and debris in guts and waterways and that fallen trees, boulders, and mud have also blocked roads and drains across the territory.

“The Public Works Department (PWD) has been actively responding to the aftermath of the storm and torrential rainfall thereafter. Their response team has been working tirelessly in each district, focusing on clearance and preparatory efforts to ensure the safety of residents and minimise property damage," Hon Rymer stated.

Rainfall delaying works - Hon Rymer 

The Works Minister said; however, that continuous rainfall has delayed the Department's ability to grade the roadways, causing some inconvenience to residents, especially those using unpaved tertiary access roads. 

“To aid in rapid response and relief, we have also involved each District Representative to take ownership of their communities, along with an assigned member of the Public Works team to address any related issues from the storm. This approach will ensure that no area is left out and that every community receives the necessary remedial attention.”

In order to address the ongoing cleanup efforts and prepare for future weather events, the public is being encouraged to send pictures of blocked drains, ghuts, undermined roads, and any other related issues to the Public Works Department’s email address at pwd@gov.vg.

“Your contributions will greatly help us in identifying areas that may have been missed and prioritise our response accordingly,” Hon Rymer added.

The Minister reminded that the VI is still in the Atlantic Hurricane Season, as such, the public is tasked to remain vigilant and stay informed by monitoring the Department of Disaster Management's weather updates and advisories and staying informed about local weather conditions.

12 Responses to “Send photos of blocked drains, damaged infrastructure to PWD- Hon Rymer”

  • NOW YOU TALKING (02/11/2023, 12:59) Like (9) Dislike (0) Reply
    That's a very good idea / how about .a what's app number for those who don't know about Email / what's app is more easier thank you
  • Really Kye (02/11/2023, 14:01) Like (29) Dislike (1) Reply
    AGAIN!!!!HOW MANY MORE TIMES
  • Disinterested (02/11/2023, 14:31) Like (10) Dislike (0) Reply
    No, the District Rep was elected to represent the residents of his or her district. It is not his/her responsibility to take ownership of delivering public services in their districts. They can collect, coordinate,etc, services. But Government has the taxpayer funded resources and the functional responsibility to organize, plan, and deliver the services to the public. Public Works need to get off its less, disorganized, incompetent @$$ and do its damn job.,Yes, residents can forward pictures, etc to Public Works but Public Works personnel need to get off their duffs, get out and put some eyeballs on the true conditions and develop a plan of action. They cannot do this from their desks in air conditioned offices , where they dress and come to work to rest. The territory is small so it should not take long for a team(s) to go out and conduct a complete infrastructure assessment after weather events, develop a prioritized plan to address the damages. Let’s stop all of the excuses and up our response and game. Excuses are like @$$ h.:s and elbows and we all have them. However, excuses don’t get things done. In fact, they contribute to delay. It takes maximizing allocated budget efficiencies to deliver the most and best services to the most people. It needs an engineer to lead Public Works, for the Director of Public Works is the lead technical advisor for the territory, for the Premier, the MInister of Works, Transportation and Utilities and others in government to governing effectively. But to provide the best technical advice, one has to have the required technical training and education, and priceless acquired experience.
    • @ Disinterested (03/11/2023, 05:11) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
      @Disinterested, “ dress to come to work to rest.” Lol, thst is factfully funny. The desk jockeys need to pull away from their desks and going in the field as as you say put some actual eye balls on any failures. Easy on Jeremy nah mo. He trying he best in unfamiliar, untrained waters, it is an embarrassment to the engineering field to put a non- engineer in an engineer position.
  • Hmmmm (02/11/2023, 14:47) Like (4) Dislike (0) Reply
    This minista a waste of time look at the roads in Road Town... yet went all the out of town to fix roads....
  • me again (02/11/2023, 15:06) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    Can you get your editors to spell check

    We have “ Ghuts” in the BV I
  • Rockman (02/11/2023, 16:01) Like (5) Dislike (0) Reply
    PWD suppose to have workers driving around daily checking the roads and other things that relate to them. So you can see there system under management is not in proper place. Kye only looking praise off of other ppl work
  • Norris Turnbull (02/11/2023, 18:17) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    These pictures should have already been had. Is this a dam game?
  • App (02/11/2023, 18:31) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    Don’t we already have an app to report these issues? What happened to that ???
  • WOW (02/11/2023, 21:39) Like (3) Dislike (0) Reply
    Don't yall in power drive the same roads as us tortola is 24 to 30 square miles n you mean to tell me our roads look like this come on
  • Russell Hill (03/11/2023, 09:03) Like (3) Dislike (0) Reply
    Russell Hill has had a water leak for at least 6 weeks now.
    WSD doesn't want to fix it any time soon and PWD will eventually have to replace a large stretch of road to repair all the damage. Tens of thousands of gallons wasted every day and nobody wants to do a thing about it. High risk for people walking and driving on the hill also and Co**in Do**y's son-in-law wants me to send a picture. For what? They well know there is a problem and refuse to resolve.


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