Residents should stop illegally dumping waste in the ponds in the Second District, opposition member Mitch Turnbull (R-D2) said on Nov. 14 in the House of Assembly.

Mr. Turnbull criticised the “disorderly, unlawful and just downright careless acts” he blamed on D-2 residents who he said use the district’s ponds as a “dumping ground,” and called on his constituents to cease such activities.

“If we continue to silently or quietly dump into our ponds and fill in our ponds, and [contribute to] erosion, and even pump our waste directly into the ponds, we will destroy the very thing that God has blessed us with and run the same dollar that we’re chasing,” he said. “We will chase it away from us.”

He also implored government agencies to enforce existing laws and to be “vigilant” in preventing such actions and preserving the territory.

Then-Junior Minister for Tourism Shereen Flax-Charles endorsed Mr. Turnbull’s comments, and called on Virgin Islands residents to report such activities.

Other D-2 updates

Mr. Turnbull also gave updates on D-2 roadwork, and said that repairs on one road had been completed, allowing two elderly residents to access transportation in case of an emergency.

He added that contracts have been drafted to complete works in Jost Van Dyke “for the people that have been living in conditions that are less than favourable.”

Two contracts are for roadwork in the eastern end of the island, and one is for the main road in Great Harbour, which he said would be signed in the coming weeks.

Mr. Turnbull added that water quality in D-2 remains an issue, and said he would work to rectify the problem but did not give any specifics.

The representative also pointed to the opening of the Enis Adams Primary School, and thanked private donors and government officials who made it possible.

Work needed

However, he also called on Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Dr. Natalio Wheatley — who was not present at the sitting — to speed up plans to repair or rebuild the JVD primary school, which he called “the worst place that we call an education institution in this country at the moment.”

Referencing the Standing Finance Committee deliberations, which got under way after the Nov. 14 meeting, Mr. Turnbull asked Premier Andrew Fahie to allocate funding to fix the community centre in Brewers Bay, which had previously served as a meeting place for seniors in the district who would bake and make arts and crafts to sell to cruise ship passengers or in schools.