Mayor Martinez: Clean lots or be charged

OWNERS of abandoned properties in Port of Spain and environs were warned yesterday by mayor Joel Martinez to maintain their lots or they will be charged or have their property seized by the city corporation.

“People own property and they are not taking care of it because nobody has enforced the law on them. If I own a lot, it is my responsibility and it should be my pride to actually look after that lot, but people seem not to care. We had from time to time the issues affecting the public health, with mosquitoes, rodents and so on. We have to cut the majority of those abandoned lots and we charge no one for it.”

The mayor said the city could no longer afford to do so.

“So we are taking action today by informing the public to look after your lots. Cut your lots, look after your lots and ensure that they are in a good state of affairs at all times.

“Failing that, we are going to enact under the Public Health Ordinance the rules to be able to recover our monies for cutting that lot and it will involve seizing your property. The Port of Spain Corporation basically have said enough is enough,” Martinez said.

Addressing the media yesterday at City Hall, Martinez said the corporation has discovered 574 abandoned and vacant lots in the city and environs.

He said there are vacant buildings which homeless people go into, serious crime happened in some of these areas, there was a number of derelict vehicles, and indiscriminate of dumping of garbage was taking place throughout the city.

Martinez said he believed the city had lost its way to some extent by allowing a number of infractions to take place over time. But now, he said, “Today (yesterday) the city corporation and members of council are taking serious action to enforce the rules and the laws that govern abandoned and vacant lots in the city.”

Martinez also warned that people who dump garbage indiscriminately in the city will also be dealt with by law.

Reiterating what happened over the Easter holidays at the Queen’s Park Savannah after a kite-flying competition, Martinez said there will now be a heavy presence of litter wardens and police on the streets.

“Now we know that people don’t care any more and they do as they want and do as they wish, we will now have to take action to ensure litter wardens and police officers are on the streets on public holidays. Due to the funding we are trying to reduce overtime, so bringing out officers on public holidays it will cost the State and the corporation money, so we would have hoped that people would have had enough pride in themselves not to leave the place in such a dirty manner.

Describing the Savannah, he said, “The situation was really ridiculous.

“When you left the Savannah, there was a sense of shame by passers-by, including myself and members of council. If we had litter wardens out on that holiday, we would have been able to identify those who throw the garbage, because it did not turn up by itself...for you to leave the area in that state is a crying shame.

He said on this occasion the corporation had not expected that “people would have left the premises in such a filthy state, hence there were no litter wardens at the Savannah.”

The corporation has installed a number of signs around the city encouraging the public not to dump garbage on abandoned lots that are taken care by the corporation and by some people.