Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment, Urban and Rural Development, Christopher Sinckler
New Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment, Urban and Rural Development, Christopher Sinckler, and the new board at the Urban Development Commission (UDC) intend “to clean up the mess” that has been found at that institution.
Stating that it was his aim to get the goods and services delivered to the people in the urban corridor, Minister Sinckler said that he and his predecessor came in and found an “unholy mess” – no procedures in place, files missing, persons unqualified for the positions occupied – and therefore work could not have been undertaken under such circumstances.
However, in light of the new procedures and protocols and additional adjustments to the human resource complement now in place at the Commission, the Minister said the Board and staff would be able to, in the New Year, proceed apace with the work and programmes that needed to be dealt with across the urban corridor of Barbados.
According to Minister Sinckler, this would involve having short, mid-term and long-term plans to deal with the backlog issues facing the UDC, especially those of providing housing and housing repairs.
He also stated that the selected skill sets brought by the Board members, such as finance, human and technical resources, would aid in bringing about the restructuring of the UDC in the medium and long term.
The new Board is headed by Gordon Bispham, while his deputy is Pearson Bovell. Other members are: Ewald Mullin; Jerome Ishmael; Walter Ellis; Herbert Harewood; Owen Estwick; Ricardo Williams; Michael Springer; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Edison Alleyne; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment, Urban and Rural Development, Sonja Welch; and Chief Town Planner, Mark Cummins.