--Thursday, 16 February 2006--

Gov't records litter hillside

Goats grazing on the hillside in Balsams Ghut have something new to add to their diet -- government records. Boxes of records are strewn down the hillside off a dirt road near Her Majesty's Prison.

At least some of the records appear to be from the Water and Sewerage Department. Other garbage litters the area, including a desk and several hair dryers. "It looks like someone took everything in an office up there and just dumped it," said a caller to this newspaper who reported the garbage.

Julian Willock, acting director of Water and Sewerage, said the matter will receive immediate attention. "This is serious," Mr. Willock said. "There needs to be a police investigation into this." Mr. Willock said the department had rented space on Wickhams Cay to store records.

When that option was deemed too expensive, the department moved the records to a trailer on Road Reef. The records include a ledger detailing expenditures. One section was labeled, "Water Dist(rict) System, Jost Van Dyke." That ledger was stamped, "Checked by Treasury, June 12, 1996."

There were also papers that detailed meter readings and payments made by customers. Mr. Willock could not explain why any government records would be dumped in that location, especially since provisions had been made for their storage. "This is something that needs to be addressed right away," he said.

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