by WADE GIBBONS

"If you have ever smelled a two-day dead dog in the hot midday sun, you already have a good idea of what stink means. But that would only qualify as a perfume in the context of what I am talking about.

"A good sniff would be to imagine the stench of 1 000 three-day dead dogs in the hot midday sun." – Al Gilkes, 2003, on an encounter with the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant.

NEITHER HEAVEN nor earth has yet been moved to rescue the long-suffering residents at Emmerton, the City, from the environmental problems occasioned by the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant.

In fact, legal counsel for those affected residents, Robert "Bobby" Clarke, has over the past 18 months been pulling out what hair he has left on his head, trying to encourage Government to move with greater alacrity to rectify the situation.

It is an ongoing saga, a throwback to the 1970s when some residents were relocated to Clapham, St Michael, and others promised that they too would be moved. It never happened.

"Since 1974, we were given letters that we would be resited to Clapham. They moved some and have not moved others," said resident Veta Batson.

So why weren't they moved?

Offering an explanation in May, last year, as to why the remaining residents had not been relocated, St Michael North West MP Clyde Mascoll (then representing the Democratic Labour Party – DLP) said the DLP had provided the land for the relocation of the first batch of residents, and had earmarked land for the second phase.

"The Barbados Labour Party [BLP] told the residents not to move, out of fear of losing a political base.

"The people of Emmerton and wider Barbados must not be taken for a ride any longer.

"This nonsense must stop and the welfare of the people of Barbados given priority," he said.

Suggestions are that Mascoll's words might have some merit.

The polling district BF1 includes Chapman Lane, Emmerton, Cats Castle and the surrounding areas. The polling district BG1 includes Lakes Folly and the O'neal's Land area. These have been traditional bastions of support for the BLP.

Some have suggested it is a Catch-22 situation for the present Government: move the residents and lose their votes; further frustrate them and lose their votes.

Clarke said the slow pace with which Government had moved to relocate the residents stemmed from insensitivity and disrespect for the mainly lower-income, working-class people in those communities.

He compared this lack of urgency with the alacrity to relocate residents of Pickwick Gap, St Michael, to accommodate the Kensington Oval Redevelopment Project for Cricket World Cup 2007.

The charge of insensitivity is one which has been repeated by residents who over the years have reported horror stories of deaths, respiratory problems, and skin infections, which they linked to the plant. In a few cases, some have produced medical documentation to substantiate their claims.

Residents took great exception to comments made by Minister of the Environment, Elizabeth Thompson, at a particularly difficult period a couple of years ago.

She said then: "We live in a small country and, in some instances, there will be some discomfort due to industries or plants situated in residential areas."

The attorney said then that after 30 years, "discomfort" was a major understating of the suffering being endured by residents.

Government MP Mascoll, in another political manifestation, and seeking to raise sensitivity on the issue, suggested last year that both Parliament and Cabinet be forced to convene at Emmerton Lane.

"This is a major, life-threatening crisis but Government doesn't see it. They found temporary arrangements for the prisoners at Glendairy in days, but the people here are made to suffer for years," he said.

It is this same passage of many years, and hitherto unfulfilled promises, which have significantly frustrated affected householders.

As far back as November 2004, then Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Anthony Wood, said two-and-a-half acres of land at Medford's Mahogany on Barbarees Hill, St Michael, had been identified for the relocation of residents.

Last August, then Minister of Housing and Lands, Elizabeth Thompson, sought $5.2 million from the Consolidated Fund to supplement the 2005-2006 Estimates.

She said that with 50 households relocating to Barbarees Hill, St Michael, the money would be used to purchase the more than 81 000 square feet of land owned by two companies.

"It will be a fast-track project," she promised.

"Once Government approves, we intend to move with equal alacrity to ensure their relocation in the shortest possible time," she said last year.

Promises were also made by the minister to clear the site and start construction as soon as access was gained.

But tell that to "Bobby" Clarke.

"That land is still there; the bush is still there; no roads are there; no lay-out plans are there; no utilities put into place. Nothing has been done," Clarke recently complained.

He has been particularly peeved by Government's seeming indifference in providing him with answers when he seeks them on behalf of the residents.

The attorney received an answer about this lack of communication, after he took what he thought was the democratic right of seeking compensation for the Emmerton Lane folk.

Minister of Housing and Lands, Reginald Farley, said last month that a lawsuit filed by Clarke was one of the "main reasons" for the lack of communication.

The suit, he added, closed the avenue to having regular meetings.

But will the residents get their wishes anytime soon?

Perhaps Farley's comments on June 23 have given householders their greatest hope to date.

"I do not anticipate that 2006 should close and find us on this matter. I understand how feelings of frustrations will rise.

"The 52 will be relocated and Government will honour all commitments made," he said.

Come December 31, residents should know if they have been victims of political promises yet again.

* wadegibbons@nationnews.com