Lack of foresight

In a country as awash with money as Trinidad and Tobago, it is completely unacceptable that fires in city centres can wreak so much havoc. In San Fernando over the weekend, two fires gutted several business places, incurring millions of dollars in damage. And, as was the case with the fire in Port-of-Spain last April, low water pressure and a lack of equipment made it difficult for the fire officers to bring the blaze under control. Indeed, the officers should probably be commended for preventing the fire from spreading through High Street, given the conditions they have to function under. In the PoS fire, readers will recall, an entire block was razed, and the ruins seven months later still bear testament to the incompetence of the authorities.

What makes this situation so inexcusable is that the issue here is a purely technical one. It is not like crime, or economic policy, or even health care, which pose both social and technical challenges and so engage a host of complex factors. Within reason, the authorities can be excused for taking some time to grapple with such matters. But no such excuse exists in the matter of fire prevention. After the PoS fire, it turned out that the Government had known for three years that many hydrants in the capital city were non-functional. Prime Minister Patrick Manning admitted that the issue of the salt water mains had been — if readers would excuse the phrase — hanging fire for almost as long. But had the Government made this issue a matter of priority? Had consultations been made, tenders sent out, preliminary work begun to deal with this potentially disastrous state of affairs? No. The Government, it seems, was too busy preparing the headquarters of the Caribbean Court of Appeal, too busy lobbying to make this country the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, too busy planning the multi-storey government campus, and so on. It is a portrait of Third World absurdity.

The country’s south city appears to be in no better state. Indeed, San Fernando West MP Diane Seukeran even had to complain about the lack of a proper response system between the various protective services in San Fernando, with the task of coordination, according to Ms Seukeran, falling to herself and Mayor Ian Atherly. However, the main issue is still a purely technical one. The Fire Service needs more equipment. While the Water and Sewerage Authority probably is culpable for the lack of water pressure, this only makes it more urgent that the authorities spend  money on more fire tenders and a functional salt water system. The main streets in both PoS and Sando make this a feasible proposal.

The issue of the fire hydrants should also be clarified. Whose responsibility is it to check and service these hydrants? Is it WASA, the city, the Fire Service? If there is confusion, then it just needs somebody to draw up a paper and someone in power — even if it has to be the Prime Minister, although such issues, in a system with proper delegation, should never reach his desk — to sign said document. There can only be one reasonable argument that most of these measures cannot be implemented within a year — and that is a lack of funds. But, as the populace knows, money is not a problem for our country right now. The real problem, as always, is a lack of foresight, initiative, and efficiency. But, maybe if the powers-that-be can deal with this issue, they might be better able to tackle the more complex challenges facing our nation.