Vandalism of property unpatriotic

THE EDITOR: The recent news reports that rocks were found in the toilet vacuum system of the inter-island ferry, the MV Cabo Star, follows similar acts of vandalism on the sewer system at a few of the nation’s schools recently.

In the same way that the Cabo Star’s toilet system has been damaged, resulting in the Port Authority’s administration now having to spend money to repair damaged infrastructure, the Ministry of Education has to do the same to ensure that the schools’ sewer systems are working properly.

A recent example of a school having to shut down because its sewer system was clogged with clothing, books and other foreign objects was the Balmain Presbyterian Primary School. Pictures posted on social media showing these items were removed from the school’s sewer system was shocking, to say the least.

In the same way that such a move can cripple the inter-island ferry service and inconvenience nationals who have to travel to and from Tobago for business, hundreds of our students are denied an education whenever school operations are disrupted because people throw rocks and other objects down the toilets.

Make no mistake about it, the vandalism of government property is an illegal act under the law. These unpatriotic acts, whether committed at a school or any government facility are only intended to disrupt the delivery of services and cause significant inconvenience to citizens and deserves to be condemned by right thinking people.

AARON PRICE, Rio Claro