Agriculture Ministry to probe claims public turned away from Wildflower Park

The Horticultural Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries has said it will investigate claims by activist Phillip Edward Alexander that the public was being turned away by security from Wildflower Park in Port of Spain.

Alexander said in a Facebook post on Saturday that he and other people are being told by security guards at the park that the public was not permitted to enter.

“I want to know who is giving security the authority to stop citizens of Trinidad and Tobago to use their park,” he said in the video. “Don’t tell Trinidadians they cannot use the park…The ministry has to answer. This is the public’s park.”

Alexander said he was alerted to the situation by an elderly person who had said security guards had also told them they were not allowed in the park.

A statement from the Horticultural Division said the ministry is doing an internal investigation.

It said both sites remain always accessible to the public.

However, it also said, “The policy position of the ministry for people wishing to use the Wildflower Park and the Botanic Gardens for any passive recreational activities, for example group gatherings or photoshoots, is that they must first obtain written permission from the Horticultural Services Division prior to their scheduled date of the event.”