Flooding and squatting must stop

Manning also said the issue of flooding in Port-of-Spain was an urgent one.

As a short-term measure, he indicated that the Ministry of Works and Transport, in conjunction with the Port-of-Spain City Corporation, would undertake the responsibility to flush out all of the underground drains within the city. New pumps would also be installed in the Sea Lots area, and the identification of a permanent solution to the problem of city flooding would be one of the key items of a comprehensive National Drainage Study.

Manning also noted that the country’s environment was under threat from several factors, including deforestation, indiscriminate land development and improper disposal of solid waste.

"These factors lead to massive flooding during the rainy season," he stated, "a situation which is particularly acute in our inner cities and business districts."

As a result, he said, Government has revived the National Environmental Policy to include the application of economic instruments and marketing incentives to encourage sustainable use of resources and the reuse and recycling of waste.

The Environmental Mana-gement Authority (EMA) has finalised the draft Beverage Containers Bill, intended to encourage the reuse and recycling of container waste.

The Land Settlement Agency (LSA) Manning said, would be used to prevent the expansion of illegal squatting on State lands.

The LSA will have the necessary arrangements in place to begin operations by November 2005.

Manning said the Government was convinced that squatting has gone beyond necessity, and "the trend has to be stopped."

Manning said the construction by the Drainage Division of the Mamoral Dam and Reservoir would start in 2006 to alleviate flooding in the Caparo River Basin.

He said the project would be undertaken over a two-and-a-half- year period at a cost of more than $100 million.