MP: Green Fund must lead the way

Green Fund officials are being urged to visit the Toco/Sangre Grande region to assist constituents squatting on state lands.

Making the call on Monday was the constituency’s MP Glenda Jennings-Smith, who noted the implications of squatting on quarrying operations.

“One of the objectives is to make the region more environmentally-friendly. But what I have observed is that you come to these meetings and you air your frustrations and then nothing happens,” she said during a forum hosted by the TT Extractive Industries Transparency Institute (TTEITI) at Duranta Gardens Community Centre, Sangre Grande.

The event was titled Digging Deeper: Seeking Solutions for Mining Challenges.

Jennings-Smith said while some of her constituents were squatting on state lands, some of them were due to be regularised.

She said her constituents needed to understand the implications of squatting and the role they can play in enhancing the environment.

“I would like to hear the conversation coming from the Green Fund because when you leave a number on a piece of paper, community members come to me and I would like representatives to come together and advise them.”

She added: “When we leave here, we could leave with reality and not with big expectations.”

Jennings-Smith said she was aware the Green Fund had done its research in determining the impact of squatting on the environment.

She recalled a visit to a constituent who had “a river bed” at the front of her house.

“She (the woman) complained that her house could fall down.”

Saying her constituents faced daily challenges in the rural region, Jennings-Smith said: “I support the people to the extent that we want to get feedback. We want to get responses.

“We don’t want to sit here, dust our pants and come back again in the next six months. That is the part we are concerned about. We already live in an area behind God back as the people like to say. We want to be treated with utmost respect.”

Jennings-Smith also wanted to know if any money had been approved, through the Green Fund for projects in Toco/Sangre Grande.

In response, a Green Fund official admitted they had not been as visual in carrying out their duties.

“We need to amend that because many people still do not know what is the Green Fund.”

A Green Fund representative present at the forum said they would be willing to meet with groups and individuals to conduct presentations and site visits, noting that addressing environmental challenges required a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Energy, Commissioner of State Lands and Forestry Division and other entities.

Vishal Persad, quarry management officer, Ministry of Energy, said while there were only seven licensed quarry operators in the country, attempts were being made to fast-track the system for assessing new applications.

He assured the ministry was cracking down on illegal quarrying.