GOVT MUST SET EXAMPLE

Will Government which announced plans on Tuesday to crackdown on developers, who it said appeared to be sidestepping Town and Country Planning regulations, take action against Udecott which the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation insists failed to seek its permission for approval to construct houses in an area under its control? And while, admittedly, Government through Minister of Works Mr Franklin Khan, was referring to hillside developers, nonetheless the principle of the flouting of regulations with respect to housing development applies, regardless. All, whether Government, state corporations, large scale housing developers, small contractors and individuals wishing to construct houses for themselves, must be required to conform.

The Penal/Debe Regional Corporation was upset that Udecott (Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago), a state corporation, had begun work on a housing development in an old cemetery in La Romaine without first seeking its approval. This appeared to contradict an earlier statement made by Udecott’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Winston Agard, that the necessary paperwork had been carried out for construction to start on the old, State-owned cemetery. The regional corporation has despatched a letter to Udecott, which Mr Agard has confirmed receiving, calling on it “to desist immediately from any further work until the necessary approvals are obtained from the corporation and discussions are fruitfully exhausted on the future of the cemetery.”

The language of the Penal/Debe Corporation’s letter, while it made clear that the corporation was determined that its authority had to be respected and its regulations complied with, was however, not combative. Implicit in its letter was the message that once Udecott obtained from it the necessary approvals and there were full discussions on the future of the cemetery, it would not be adverse to Udecott continuing with the project. The State and/or state corporations must first set the example with respect to following regulations, otherwise others, using the point made by late calypsonian, Cypher, in one of his more memorable works that “If the priest could play, who is we?,” may trump and follow suit. Several areas of Trinidad and Tobago have fallen repeatedly victim to flooding as a result of indiscrimate cutting of hillsides by some housing developers as well as the slashing and burning of hillsides by squatters to clear areas for building.

The effect is the same. There is rapid run-off of water during rainfall, as the denuded hilsides are not in a position to absorb the water. In turn, with the erosion triggered by the cutting and/or burning of the hillsides, rocks, dirt and debris are pushed down the slopes by the unchecked rainwater and into water courses causing flooding. It is this unwillingness to comply with the regulations of the Town and Country Planning Department and of the regional and city corporations, among others, that has placed several areas of Port-of-Spain and the East-West Corridor, Central and South Trinidad and Tobago under siege during the current rainy season. Government and state corporations rather than dismiss the regulations, whether or not intentionally, have not helped. Both must set the example, and on a consistent basis, and should begin now.