PoS Mayor: Littering, homeless a challenge

The homeless issue, however, will require talks with the line minister.

He was speaking to Sunday Newsday on the Brian Lara Promenade, Independence Square, Port-of- Spain. He pointed out that the Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein launched the National Clean Up Campaign yesterday at the Foreshore, Audrey Jeffers Highway.

He noted that Diego Martin Regional Corporation is this weekend and Portof- Spain City Corporation next weekend “but we didn’t wait for next weekend to start, we decided let’s start now”.

He said they started last week with the Promenade and there has been painting and power washing “and we are trying to start the objective of keeping the city clean.

Martinez commented on two of the issues in keeping the city clean, namely littering and the socially displaced.

“People are naturally litterers and we have put bins here for them. We going to encourage them to use the bins.

We going to have programs on the radio and television and through the media and as a matter of fact I would like the media to assist us in calling the population and asking the population to...utilise the bin to help us to keep the city clean and not just you eat something you drop it here because you feel you don’t want to get up and walk to the bin.

The bins are provided for that,” he said.

He reported that they have a lot of bins in the city and more to come “and we want to encourage that”.

On the litter wardens Martinez reported that the cadre is about 10 for the whole city “which really and truly is not enough”.

He said they want to increase the cadre so they can man the city a lot better and this will create employment.

He added that they plan to train the personnel so they can encourage and not be antagonistic.

Martinez pointed out that it is a ticketed offence and he noted the increase from $50 to $500 which occurred in 2013.

“Hopefully that will add some traction and that will encourage people to be mindful that if you litter it will cost you just as much of a fine as if they wreck your car,” he said.

He said the homeless is another issue and pointed out that he was chatting with the people who clean the Promenade “and they were telling me basically how difficult it is for them to do it because they using the Promenade as a bathroom and...there is faeces all over the place and when you have to clean up. And that is a deterrent.” He stressed the homeless has been a situation in the capital city for some time now.

“What we are trying to do is find a way to resolve it,” he added.

He reported that this week he would be meeting with Minister of Social Development Cherrie-Ann Crichlow- Cockburn to discuss the way forward.

“It is all part of the clean up process and if we can find a way to humanely deal with the homeless in the streets that would be a plus for us and a plus for the nation,” he said