Days after PopCaan heeded the resident’s cry in the Bamboo River community in his native St. Thomas and executed a drain cleaning exercise, the National Works Agency (NWA) is now expressing concerns.

PopCaan’s good deed comes after the residents raised safety concerns about the smell of the stagnant water and the dangers it poses, citing that it has become a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.

However, Communications Manager, Stephen Shaw in a television interview this week, indicated that PopCaan’s action in cleaning the drains “could lead to consequences that persons would not necessarily desire.” In outlining the construct of the drain, he said, “Part of the drain is paved and another part leading into the sea is unpaved”, citing that we “could find a situation where, in seeking to clear the drain, the operator could go below the invert which is base of the drain and that could cause further problems in terms of ponding, the breathing of mosquitoes and the likes.”

So, why did the NWA wait until PopCaan executed the drain cleaning exercise before expressing their concerns about the complexities of drain cleaning process? Why wasn’t this told to PopCaan and his team before? Why didn’t the NWA intervene when the residents of Bamboo River raised safety concerns?

While there are a string of unanswered questions, PopCaan in reacting to the NWA’s concerns, shared a video of the work in progress and asked Mr Shaw to “forward and help instead of chatting.”

Meanwhile, Mayor of Morant Bay, Hubert Williams has pointed out that it’s the NWA’s responsibility to clean the drains and lauded the Dancehall star for his efforts.

PopCaan has since been praised by the residents of Bamboo River following the drain cleaning exercise with his team on Monday (Jan 15).