Street dwellers a major concern

“We have quite a lot of street dwellers in San Juan/Laventille particularly in the Croisee,” he said.

He was speaking with Newsday on Wednesday following the San Juan/ Laventille Regional Corporation Swearing-In Ceremony held at the Barataria Community Centre.

Roberts pointed out that he was a former Social Development Minister and “unfortunately when one minister leaves and another one comes, he feels that he has to reinvent the wheel”. He said that they had done “quite a lot of work” when he was minister to deal with the issue of homelessness. He explained that they had done a detailed survey and categorised them into those involved in drugs, mentally ill and senior citizens who were homeless.

“Because you can’t use one big brush to paint all, to deal with the problem,” he said.

He recalled that they were seeking to remove the mentally ill from the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital who did not belong there, expand the Piparo Empowerment Centre for those on drugs and build housing for the homeless and senior citizens.

“So that there was a plan to deal with the situation. You know people tell you ‘go and pick up the vagrant’.

But to pick up the vagrants you have to be able to place them properly and take care of them because they are our citizens who find themselves in an unfortunate situation.

So there was a plan and nobody followed it after I left. So we are grappling with that situation,” he said.

Returning to the corporation he said that previously as chairman both he and the CEO met with the Permanent Secretary in the Social Development Ministry to discuss an approach as to how to deal with vagrants in the community.

“And we started that discussion and those discussions must continue.

I t is a new Government now and we again have to start that discussion,” he said.

During his address he reported that they have cleared the streets of the illegal practice of vending allowing vehicular access throughout the streets.

He stressed that there will be “absolutely no vending” on the verges or streets of San Juan/ Laventille.

“This municipality will not be a shanty,” he declared. At the ceremony, both Roberts and vice chairman Richard Walcott were uncontested. The other aldermen announced were Nazeemool Mohammed and Sudhir Sagramsingh.