BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOUNDER of Operation Rescue Dwyer Astaphan is of the view that the problems experienced at the Basseterre High School (BHS) resulted from the lack of maintenance and upgrade of the 59-year-old structures of the learning institution.
“I don’t intend to go into these reports in any detail, in fact not even the slightest detail. But I will say this; the one thought that reverberated through my mind as I read all of these reports was that the problems at the Basseterre High School were, to a large extent, the result of serious deficiencies in maintenance and upgrade over the decades since the structures had been erected up there.”
Astaphan made this statement, among others, last evening (Aug. 11) on his weekly talk show ‘The Operating Room’ on a local radio station.
He indicated that he had read the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Report as well as reports from CARPHA and the ILO, and has commended the parties for making them available to the public.
Astaphan however opined that the findings of NIOSH had to be vastly different from those of the other entities that conducted investigations at the school.
His opinion was premised on occupation and non-occupation of the school’s facility at the time of investigation.
“When the NIOSH people were doing their investigating and their inspecting, the premises were unoccupied, not in use, and the importance of that is quite simple and obvious. You are going to see less activity of everything when the premises are not in use. A place that is empty and unoccupied will yield different results very likely from a place which is peopled by 900 human beings. So, I think that is an important point to note for the purpose of discussion.”
Stressing that there have already been enough reports, Astaphan also opined that there is sufficient information to guide the Government as to the best way forward.
The former Government Minister is also of the view that the NIOSH Report is being made a political issue in some quarters, and that is one of the reasons for his opinion.
“Some people seem to be making politics out of this NIOSH Report, which they say brings down to earth the hysteria and the hype that came before the elections so as to suggest that a lot of this was concocted. And this is one of the reasons I said it is important to note that the conditions of the premises under inspection of NIOSH were conditions of unoccupied premises.”
Astaphan spoke to the time when the BHS was constructed and blamed all administrations since then for not maintaining the facility, especially the Dr. Douglas-led Administration.
“...Firstly under a Labour Government, I think it was built in the 50s, up to 1980, then under a PAM/NRP Government from 1980 to 1995 when under a supposed Labour Government for 20 years. So all of the administrations that governed this country since the establishment of that institution have to be a responsibility for not having maintained it to the level it ought to be maintained. But, in my view, the administration which must take the most blame is the administration that was last in charge of it and the administration that was there for 20 years up to this year. Because, the facilities would have deteriorated and aged and would require closer and more caring and proactive attention by that Government.”
Astaphan noted that the NIOSH Report concluded that things were not in order at the school and he reiterated his opinion of lack of maintenance and upgrade.
“And there is no question from the Report that there were problems and still are problems at the Basseterre High School. And even though the NIOSH inspection was done on unoccupied premises, indications were still that things were not in order. For example, the ventilation system...the relative humidity was not where it ought to have been and so forth. But the point I am making is that the problems are, to a large extent, result of deficiencies in maintenance and upgrade, and that to me is undeniable.”
The Operation Rescue founder claimed that the above mentioned is a very important lesson for the Government and the people of the Federation.
The former Tourism Minister advised that the highest priority must be given to constructing proper functional energy-efficient and aesthetically-pleasing structures and facilities in the society.
“And we must also give the highest priority to efficiently maintaining these facilities and from time to time upgrading them, and adhering to international best practices and modernity without sacrificing our cultural heritage, architectural or otherwise,” he further advised.
