Reconstructing CEPEP

JABARRI SUPERVILLE

Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Clarence Rambharat is looking forward to bringing The Community Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) back to its “original mandate.” This follows comments made by Prime Minister Keith Rowley earlier this year that CEPEP has “gone astray.”

At the launch for the national website for forests and protected areas at the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) Head Office in St. Clair earlier today, Rambharat spoke of reconstruction plans for CEPEP. “A lot of people don’t believe the resources allocated to CEPEP funds are being used wisely,” he said.

He added that the Government has already announced a new “configuration” of CEPEP, where resources would be split in three. The environmental body will remain under the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, but resources allocated to CEPEP will be shared between the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government.

With the allocations to be given to his ministry, Rambharat said he is ready to refocus CEPEP’s labour towards reforestation, preservation, planting and rejuvenating terrain that has been damaged due to slash and burn. He added that in the North East area, he is looking to develop areas from Matelot to Salybia and in the Diego Martin Hills in the North West area.