SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Blaming shoddy work overseen by previous administrations of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation for the level of devastation Hurricane Melissa wreaked on State facilities, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie is adamant that the central government will take the lead in the rebuilding process and ensure only competent contractors are engaged.

“Let me say this without fear of contradiction; and when I speak I don’t mince my words. I am not going to allocate resources for work to be undertaken to give to any butcher or any cobbler, because the works that I’ve seen here speak volumes to the level of construction that has taken place. And as I said before, I can’t blame the present mayor, but I have to hold the former administration responsible, because it means that no proper supervision of the work was undertaken,” stated McKenzie.

His comments came Wednesday during a visit to the parish, which was among the worst hit by the Category 5 storm that slammed into the island’s south west on October 28.

“I am upset. It is not that the Government has not done anything, but a lot of what was done has been taken by Melissa because of poor workmanship; and Melissa is not to be blamed for everything. What Melissa did was to lift the skirt and show everybody what was done,” argued McKenzie.

Accompanied by members of his team from the ministry and representatives of the local authority, McKenzie’s Wednesday visit included stops at Savanna-la-Mar’s infirmary and market.

“I have instructed the ministry to be the go-getter…in whatever designs are going to be made here at the infirmary and here at the market. They must be a part of that process,” he insisted.

He said that, in moving forward, politics will not play a role in how contractors are selected.

“The qualification that you need is to be a certified contractor of a certain grade, to a certain level,” stated McKenzie.

“I’m dead serious about it. Because I feel bad, as the minister, that at least four markets under my watch have been destroyed. One in Black River — I inherited it, but that has been destroyed. I have spent a lot of money on this [Sav] market since I became minister. We built a new [male] wing at the infirmary. The overrun cost us about $35 million, and it took almost seven years to build the infirmary, [though] I announced it in 2016 — during my first presentation,” said an obviously upset McKenzie.

It is a topic he has often raised during several public spats and a generally tense relationship with the People’s National Party (PNP)-led Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.

McKenzie used Wednesday’s visit to give an outline of how his ministry intends to proceed with the rebuilding and restoration that needs to take place in the parish.

He said the emergency procurement system will be used to start repairs on the Infirmary’s new male ward.

“I have asked the technical team to give me two options: one, to concrete the roof in its entirety or to do a portion of it. So I am looking at the options that are available,” the minister explained.

“I have said to the mayor that they must commence the work to start to rebuild what can be rebuilt,” revealed McKenzie, who noted that he has declared December 13 a “special clean-up day” for the Savanna-la-Mar infirmary.

The minister also noted that National Solid Waste Management Authority, the Jamaica Defence Force, the Jamaica Fire Brigade and others would join the initiative and give a helping hand.

McKenzie said representatives of other municipal corporations, the Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar Danree Delancy, and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmoreland Central Dwayne Vaz will be invited to play a role.

During Wednesday’s visit, McKenzie also provided an update on the poor relief building which was declared unfit for use some time ago and was further compromised by Hurricane Melissa. He said he is now awaiting an assessment from the technical team to determine the next move.

According to the minister, Savanna-la-Mar and Falmouth are the two worst-impacted infirmaries and repairing them will require significant funding.