HDC: Rowley to give East PoS decision

HOUSING MINISTER Dr Keith Rowley will soon make a decision about how new housing plans for East Port-of-Spain (PoS) should proceed.

This was the word yesterday from Housing Development Corporation (HDC) chairman Noel Garcia as he dismissed claims from Is We Community Developers group that the HDC was going to evict some 15 to 20 East PoS residents within the next two weeks for failure to pay rent and that the company was intimidating residents to move out of the area.

Is We representative Lennox Smith yesterday claimed the HDC was trying to coerce the residents into accepting its development plans for East PoS and some residents were served eviction notices in the last week. Smith further claimed the HDC has been trying to stigmatise the people in the area and all of the company’s alleged intimidatory tactics would have been revealed at a meeting scheduled late yesterday evening at the St Paul Street Complex.

Contacted yesterday, Garcia explained that the HDC sends letters to persons who are in arrears and encourages such persons to come in and explain their circumstances.

He said eviction notices are only sent as a last resort and while the HDC will be as flexible as possible in rent collection matters, it will not allow persons who refuse to pay rent to occupy its properties. Garcia added that persons in East PoS pay monthly rents of $100.

Asked about the status of the East PoS housing development, Garcia said Rowley is currently assessing all of the comments, objections and recommendations made during the HDC’s public consultations with East PoS residents and other stakeholders over the last few months.