What a week it has been. Between a tropical storm coming over the island, a storm in a tea cup over a TV show, a family wedding, peoples lives thrown into chaos as a result of the tropical storm and the subsequent flooding, back to back public holidays and other non scheduled no work days. Then, add the political fallout from the handling and mishandling of the tropical storm right up to the LOTO walking out of the Parliament. And we want to criticize the producers and presenter of the foreign TV series 'Parts Unknown.' It's a good thing he was not in T&T filming his show on our country during the last week.
The issue of flooding is man made and therefore man must be held accountable and man must do the responsible thing and fix it. One week after the devastating floods we are still to hear from those in authority what is being done to prevent this annual disruption of the lives of many of our citizens. We continue to believe that handing out bottles of water and mattresses is the answer. We continue to believe that the photo-op of the PMOTT and the LOTO is going to somehow justify and relieve the pain and suffering of those who have been affected by the floods.
What is the plan for the short, medium and long term fix? Pictures of citizens jumping over flooded drains in the capital city after the scheduled midday shower is an embarrassment to this country. The drainage system in the capital city is suffering from poor planing and a complete lack of maintenance. The pictures of those affected by the flood waters in the central and southern parts of the island is as a result of poor planning and a complete lack of water way management and maintenance.
We have two seasons, rain and sun. The rain starts in June and the sun starts in February. Go figure! Why cannot the various agencies plan for both effective drainage development and maintenance? Have the agencies figured out what has caused the flooding over the last week and have they put plans into place to alleviate any reccurrence? Please do not blame the flooding on poor Tropical Storm Bret, at least not until you have examined in detail what happened. We read of levees being breached as a result of farmers utilizing the area for planting crops, sluice gates not functioning, garbage in the waterways and other stories of neglect and mismanagement.
The Tobago ferry service issue is back like a bad flu. It is now day 66 since the Super Fast Galicia sailed through the Bocas for the last time. Can you even start to comprehend the length of time it is taking a government to take a decision on what is an essential service and to ensure that the citizens living in Tobago are properly serviced. No wonder the southern half of Trinidad is in the physical mess that it is in as a result of a weather system. It seems that incompetence is the rule of the day for this administration. Is there nothing it can get right? We now hear of an imminent decision being made re the replacement ferry. We have heard this same line from the same Minister many times and quite frankly he must be the only person who believes his own story. Well, maybe he and the PMOTT!
The Petrotrin report has been submitted to the government for its approval and or recommendations. The OWTU has seen the report, how come? and has already made a statement that they are basically in agreement with the findings especially the part that does not call for a reduction in staffing. The most important people who must have a read of this critical document are of course the shareholders. In all matters pertaining to the life of a corporation the shareholders have the right to approve or disapprove any decision being taken that will affect the corporation, positively or negatively.
The issue at Petrotrin is one of mismanagement of billions of dollars and horrendous decision making on investments. All of this was done without the approval of the shareholders. I do not consider the Corporation Sole as the shareholder or the representative of the shareholders [the taxpayers and citizens of T&T]. The government of the day is not in a position to determine the future of this albatross without first laying the report in the Parliament for all to see.
The fact that the OWTU has already seen the report says that the decision is going to probably be made without full consultation with the real shareholders.
Maybe the current administration and the opposition deem the Parliament as irrelevant unless there is serious 'kicksing' and 'walking out.' Some Parliamentarians think they look cool doing this.
Recently my recycling center located in St. Anns was closed. There were a number of operational issues and it closed. This leaves me with no where to deposit paper, cardboard and glass bottles. The plastics are still collected at other areas. With all the talk about people being irresponsible and dumping stuff in areas that create flooding and other problems, where exactly are the collection locations in and around the city? The answer is of course, no where. There are none or extremely limited collection points for recycleable material. Do not even think about the disposal of mattresses or white waste. Its simple, just leave it on the roadside or throw it over the cliff. Out of sight out of mind. So what are people supposed to do if there is no proper, safe means of disposing recyclable material and other household waste?
I would like to suggest that the lands owned by the POS City Corporation at Mucurapo be used as a full blown collection center. The lands are now being used as a scrap yard for old City Corp. discarded vehicles. A properly designed collection center, staffed and maintained by either NGOs or a mix of agencies could be built. Companies like the local glass works and print media could be charged a reasonable fee to support the facility. A membership fee could be offered even though the facility would be opened free to the public. There are a number of ways we could develop the facility and maintain it. I am sure that all this information is available and could now be put to use.
This would be one of the many steps towards solving, permanently, the annual flooding spectacle. There is no real way to dispose of waste in this country.
And so the country gets back to some level of normalcy. I would think however, not for long. As the much maligned foreign TV presenter says,
The issue of flooding is man made and therefore man must be held accountable and man must do the responsible thing and fix it. One week after the devastating floods we are still to hear from those in authority what is being done to prevent this annual disruption of the lives of many of our citizens. We continue to believe that handing out bottles of water and mattresses is the answer. We continue to believe that the photo-op of the PMOTT and the LOTO is going to somehow justify and relieve the pain and suffering of those who have been affected by the floods.
What is the plan for the short, medium and long term fix? Pictures of citizens jumping over flooded drains in the capital city after the scheduled midday shower is an embarrassment to this country. The drainage system in the capital city is suffering from poor planing and a complete lack of maintenance. The pictures of those affected by the flood waters in the central and southern parts of the island is as a result of poor planning and a complete lack of water way management and maintenance.
We have two seasons, rain and sun. The rain starts in June and the sun starts in February. Go figure! Why cannot the various agencies plan for both effective drainage development and maintenance? Have the agencies figured out what has caused the flooding over the last week and have they put plans into place to alleviate any reccurrence? Please do not blame the flooding on poor Tropical Storm Bret, at least not until you have examined in detail what happened. We read of levees being breached as a result of farmers utilizing the area for planting crops, sluice gates not functioning, garbage in the waterways and other stories of neglect and mismanagement.
The Tobago ferry service issue is back like a bad flu. It is now day 66 since the Super Fast Galicia sailed through the Bocas for the last time. Can you even start to comprehend the length of time it is taking a government to take a decision on what is an essential service and to ensure that the citizens living in Tobago are properly serviced. No wonder the southern half of Trinidad is in the physical mess that it is in as a result of a weather system. It seems that incompetence is the rule of the day for this administration. Is there nothing it can get right? We now hear of an imminent decision being made re the replacement ferry. We have heard this same line from the same Minister many times and quite frankly he must be the only person who believes his own story. Well, maybe he and the PMOTT!
The Petrotrin report has been submitted to the government for its approval and or recommendations. The OWTU has seen the report, how come? and has already made a statement that they are basically in agreement with the findings especially the part that does not call for a reduction in staffing. The most important people who must have a read of this critical document are of course the shareholders. In all matters pertaining to the life of a corporation the shareholders have the right to approve or disapprove any decision being taken that will affect the corporation, positively or negatively.
The issue at Petrotrin is one of mismanagement of billions of dollars and horrendous decision making on investments. All of this was done without the approval of the shareholders. I do not consider the Corporation Sole as the shareholder or the representative of the shareholders [the taxpayers and citizens of T&T]. The government of the day is not in a position to determine the future of this albatross without first laying the report in the Parliament for all to see.
The fact that the OWTU has already seen the report says that the decision is going to probably be made without full consultation with the real shareholders.
Maybe the current administration and the opposition deem the Parliament as irrelevant unless there is serious 'kicksing' and 'walking out.' Some Parliamentarians think they look cool doing this.
Recently my recycling center located in St. Anns was closed. There were a number of operational issues and it closed. This leaves me with no where to deposit paper, cardboard and glass bottles. The plastics are still collected at other areas. With all the talk about people being irresponsible and dumping stuff in areas that create flooding and other problems, where exactly are the collection locations in and around the city? The answer is of course, no where. There are none or extremely limited collection points for recycleable material. Do not even think about the disposal of mattresses or white waste. Its simple, just leave it on the roadside or throw it over the cliff. Out of sight out of mind. So what are people supposed to do if there is no proper, safe means of disposing recyclable material and other household waste?
I would like to suggest that the lands owned by the POS City Corporation at Mucurapo be used as a full blown collection center. The lands are now being used as a scrap yard for old City Corp. discarded vehicles. A properly designed collection center, staffed and maintained by either NGOs or a mix of agencies could be built. Companies like the local glass works and print media could be charged a reasonable fee to support the facility. A membership fee could be offered even though the facility would be opened free to the public. There are a number of ways we could develop the facility and maintain it. I am sure that all this information is available and could now be put to use.
This would be one of the many steps towards solving, permanently, the annual flooding spectacle. There is no real way to dispose of waste in this country.
And so the country gets back to some level of normalcy. I would think however, not for long. As the much maligned foreign TV presenter says,
'Trinidad is complicated'
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