THA Minority Leader: Infrastructure Secretary boldfaced, arrogant over stage in sea

THA Minority Leader Kelvon Morris has described as “arrogant, bold-faced and disrespectful” Infrastructure Secretary Trevor James’ response to the Environmental Management Authority’s (EMA’s) concerns about a stage being built in the sea for next week’s Tobago carnival.

Earlier this week, the EMA said the stage was one of several infrastructural projects the THA was undertaking without the requisite certificates of environmental clearance (CEC).

The stage is being built at Rockly Bay, Milford Road, Scarborough,

James told the media on Monday, “What we are trying to do is host a carnival in a few weeks…we at the assembly are trying to execute these works in short order and sometimes as a state agency, we believe it might be challenging to go through every single step that is required. If that has to be done, then we won’t be able to accomplish all that we set out to do.”

He said, however, that his staff at the division had contacted the EMA and the Division of Environment and discussions were taking place.

James said he was not aware a CEC was required to construct the stage.

At a news conference on Thursday at his office in Scarborough, Morris said having served on the board of Evolving Technologies and Enterprise Development Co Ltd (eTecK), he has had some experience in addressing coastal projects.

He recalled eTecK had to hire an international firm to help deal with coastal erosion at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort, Lowlands.

The firm, he said, spent between six months and a year evaluating current flows to create a design that ensured no undue harm would be caused by the measures.

“So sometimes it may look as simple as just putting down boulders, and we may feel that it is no big deal. But when you affect the natural coastal flow in one area, it then causes a lot of destruction and environmental harm in other areas.”

He said the coastal erosion currently taking place in Lambeau might have been because of action taken previously in dealing with the Scarborough port.

Referring specifically to the stage in the sea, Morris said, “We are now seeing a secretary so arrogant, so boldfaced, so disrespectful that even in the face of the lawful authority saying to you, 'At least there is a process, let us go through the process, let us give you the clearance,' and you are saying, ‘No, I don’t care. We have a carnival to treat with and by hook or crook we putting down the stage. So I don’t care about the law'….This is the same division dealing with issues of breach of process.”

Morris said Tobago must not be destroyed for a carnival.

“The carnival would come and go, but whatever we do here, we will have to live with. Is a carnival worth the destruction of Tobago?”

He said while Tobagonians would like to have a good carnival, “If we don’t have the stage out in the sea, would that stop the carnival?”