Days after PopCaan answered the call of a resident of the Bamboo River community in his hometown of St. Thomas and conducted a drain-cleaning exercise, the National Works Agency (NWA) is now raising concerns.
PopCaan's good deed came after residents raised safety concerns about the smell of the stagnant water and the dangers associated with it, citing that it had become a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.
However, communications manager Stephen Shaw pointed out in a television interview this week that PopCaan's action in cleaning the drains “could lead to consequences that people wouldn't necessarily want.” Outlining the structure of the drain, he said: “Part of the drain is paved and another part leading into the sea is unpaved,” citing that we “might find a situation where the operator, when trying “Cleaning the drain could go below the sole that forms the base of the drain and this could cause further problems in terms of puddling, mosquito inhalation and the like.”
So why did the NWA wait until PopCaan performed the drain cleaning before voicing its concerns about the complexity of the drain cleaning process? Why wasn't PopCaan and his team informed about this sooner? Why did the NWA not intervene when Bamboo River residents raised safety concerns?
Although there are a number of unanswered questions, in response to NWA's concerns, PopCaan shared a video of the work in progress and asked Mr. Shaw to “forward and help rather than chatter.”
Meanwhile, Morant Bay Mayor Hubert Williams has pointed out that it is NWA's responsibility to clean the drains and praised the dancehall star for his efforts.
Since then, PopCaan has been praised by residents of Bamboo River following the drain cleaning exercise with his team on Monday (January 15).
Comments are closed.