Ramesh bids to block Government acquiring community centre lands

The government is seeking to take over management of the community centres under a new policy, but village councils have decided to fight back and have threatened a class action lawsuit in which it intends to petition a High Court judge to declare that the lands on which 50 community centres were built are worth millions of dollars given to them since 1930, and to take over management of the community centres is in effect taking away the lands.

Last week, the villages councils acting together as the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Village Councils (TTAVC), issued a pre-action protocol letter to the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, warning that their action is illegal and judicial review lawsuit will be filed.

The government through the ministry, last year decided to introduce a Use Policy targeting 40 community facilities throughout the country to take over their management.

The village councils are contending through the TTAVC in their pre-action letter, that the lands are owned by the village councils which were provided as gifts by elders in the respective communities, and therefore, their action is illegal. The government, the TTAVA stated, has refused to consult with them.

The pre-action protocol letter was sent to Community Development, Culture and Arts minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, in which it pointed out that villagers’ great grandparents since the 1950’s, had donated lands to build community centres and unless the TTAVC is consulted, to take over management under the new Use Policy, would amount to attempt to illegally takeover the lands.

Senior Counsel and former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj is representing the TTAVCC. Maharaj drafted the pre-action protocol letter in which he outlined a history of how the first community centres were built in the country. He stated that they were constructed on lands donated by villagers since 1930 in which over 500 villages and community councils throughout Trinidad and Tobago, were established. The TTAVC became the umbrella body with a constitution and was registered as a non-government organisation.

It was approved in 1967 by the then cabinet and rules governing how the TTAVC should manage community centres were introduced. In 1975, government began to provide financial assistance to village councils and the TTAVCC was charged with the responsibility of disbursing the grants to individual village councils for upkeep of the community centres.

The TTAVC has always been in charge of some 50 community centres.

Maharaj, however, stated in his pre-action protocol letter that in May last year, the president of the TTAVC was contacted by telephone by the Policy Coordinator in the ministry, requesting a meeting to discuss arrangements for management of 40 community cacilities and subsequently, an email, inviting to discuss “Interim Use Policy & Guidlines For Community Facilities”. Maharaj pointed out that Section 7.3 of the Use Policy guidlines require community facilities to sign a contract with the ministry for use of the facilities.

The policy, Maharaj explained, contemplates setting up of a Community Facility Management Committee; a Community Development District Supervisor; Facility Tenders Committee; Financial reporting directly to the permanent secretary.