Portsmouth faring well despite global reccession, garbage issues and isolated crime incidents – Mayor

The town of Portsmouth is faring well despite the global recession, a glaring garbage disposal problem, and a few isolated incidents of crime, according to recently re-elected Mayor of Portsmouth Vernon Daniel.

Employment

Daniel attributes most of the town’s success to Ross University, a medical institution which employs close to 400 persons in the area.

With its “Central Business District” being Bay Street, Rodney Street and Harbour Lane, Daniel said the town is “vibrant” though it faces its challenges.

Unemployment is low, the construction industry is booming and small businesses are being built, Daniel told Dominica News Online.
The mayor said in an exclusive interview that “every sector of the society persons are employed in one way or the other, whether you’re a builder, helpers in construction, there are skilled people. Unemployment is not a problem right now in Portsmouth.”

He added: “Portsmouth is such an ideal location because of the port that you have; every weekend more than 12 boats leaving the ports to take food down the island and you have people employed around that. You have the Portsmouth Market – four days in the week, you will find vendors at the market.”

He mentioned the recently opened KFC and Rituals outlets which he said employs close to 50 persons combined.

Apart from market vendors, selling crops which they obtain from neighbouring communities, Portsmouth is not at all an agricultural community, Daniel said.

Ross University

When asked whether he believed  that the town would not survive if Ross University would seize to exist there, the mayor was confident that residents would find alternatives to keep the town afloat.

“Every person who is employed at Ross, the majority of them already have investments in some small businesses or even in their housing. Although that may be affected if Ross leaves, but people have a way of adapting and I think Portsmouth will survive in the sense that there will be an alternative. Needless to say I wouldn’t want Ross University to go,” he stated.

The mayor welcomes the idea of another such university in Portsmouth.

Garbage disposal

As in any part of the world, development often comes with social and environmental problems and Portsmouth is no exception. Daniel told DNO of a garbage disposal problem which he said has been affecting the community in recent times.

The mayor explained that before the central collection system or curbside collection which was introduced by the Dominica Solid Waste Corporation, Portsmouth possessed its own landfill where all of the town’s waste was dumped. With the new system, a garbage truck comes from Roseau to collect garbage three times a week.

This is insufficient, Daniel said.

“The collection days are three days a week. When their truck breaks down then that’s another story. So our problem in Portsmouth is ineffective collection so you come to Portsmouth and you might see garbage bags and that sort of things out for Solid Waste to pick up but the three days – which I have discussed with them on several occasions – is insufficient for the size of the community that is Portsmouth and the amount of waste that is generated on a daily basis,” he said.

The mayor said that the Portsmouth Town Council has made a request to Central Government to provide the town with its own dump truck as a possible solution to the problem. The town would then conduct its own collections.

“That will make a significant difference. So far we’re still awaiting a response. We were told that after the budget was passed that has happened in July… we’re hoping that before November for Community Day of Service we can have that truck,” Daniel said.

Crime

The mayor also addressed the issue of crime in Portsmouth. He mentioned  the recent brutal murder of Clement ‘Johnson’ James,  noting that such an incident should be considered as an isolated one and not to be seen as the general reputation of the town or as a result of a bad economic picture.

“It was really unfortunate that this happened the way it did,” he said.

Daniel said that there is a need for the community to be safe and the laws to be exercised properly. He stated however that crime at the Ross University has reduced significantly in the past few years.

Among other matters, the mayor was happy to report a significant improvement in the number of persons who pay their taxes recently.

He however, pointed to another problem which has been surfacing as a result of the growth of the town – traffic flow. He assured that council is seeking ways to address this.

Wrecks

He touched on the issue of the wrecks near the sea, a matter which had been raised by a former mayor in the media. Daniel said that, apart from being a sore sight, these derelict boats were breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

The government recently announced that it was in final negotiations with the Venezuelan government to have the wrecks removed. Daniel wishes this will be done speedily. He however raised concern about the safety of the port area once these wrecks are removed.

“They actually over the years formed protective barriers for the harbour and Bay Street. That means all the property bordering the sea on Bay Street are protected during any storm by those boats. If we remove those boats right now then the entire Bay Street is vulnerable… all the buildings on that property become vulnerable…” he stated.

“That means, whatever decision is taken, which I advocate strongly for, once the wrecks are removed there must be a development project whether it’s a sea wall, whether its reclamation of land on that same sea, but there must be a replacement meant to protect the property,” he said.

Another issue he believes may be contributing to the problem of mosquitoes are a number of derelict buildings in that city. He said that the council had decided to remove those buildings in the town, hence paving way for more business space.

Daniel was re-elected as chairman of the Portsmouth Town Council on Monday evening at a special meeting when eight of the 13 council members voted him to be reinstated as chairman.