Dear Santa, can you bring me the EMA for Christmas?
THE EDITOR: Some people may look forward to public holidays and weekends. Not I. Thanks to the EMA’s inefficiency and lack of respect for stakeholder feedback on issues relating to noise pollution, my family and I have not had a true Trini Christmas since 2000. (Sorry, Susan Maicoo...I remember when Trini Xmas was de bess, was de bess, was de bess....but no longer.) Having had a lead-up this weekend, I know what to expect for the rest of the season and then of course for Carnival and the rest of the year. I will awake to the sound of my neighbours blasting music from 6 am till night. These goodly folk don’t know about the EMA or noise laws. Actually I am beginning to wonder if the EMA actually exists, since in five odd years, they appear to be paralysed into inaction. I find it strange that the EMA refuses to use public awareness campaigns to address the public’s mind to noise laws. We are seeing Nikki Crosby for littering, why not something similar for noise? Why can’t EMA officers come to my neighbourhood and educate the multitude of persons violating the Noise Rules? Why must I have to complain month after month for the law to be enforced or if unenforceable, then reviewed? Why should a public organisation with mandate over the Noise Rules, blatantly refuse to allocate resources to its enforcement, thereby effectively crippling the intent of the legislation? What does the Board of the EMA think of the numerous articles regarding the proven ineffectiveness of the EMA? What must the Minister think of a fairly independent agency under her purview, not meeting standards and creating so much discord and unhappiness among our citizens? I feel sorry for the two constables of the Environmental Police Unit whose task it is to respond to a litany of environmental complaints across country. What can we expect of them when their plate is so full? Far from being on call, these officers (up to June 2005) were not even equipped with official mobile phones to be able to receive direct complaints from citizens who are hurting from environmental breaches. Such public arrogance is certainly not synonymous with our country’s stated Vision 2020 objectives. In my last hope for Christmas, I am begging Santa Claus to bring me an EMA with decision-makers who act in the best interest of the public. Maybe Santa could throw in a public awareness campaign, a few mobile phones for the enforcement officers, perhaps a week-long training programme for EMA employees which informs them of their role as servants of the public, how to respond to correspondence and written feedback and the significance of returning calls to members of the public who take the time to make direct contact. A SANKAR Attorney-at-Law Port-of-Spain
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"Dear Santa, can you bring me the EMA for Christmas?"