Port of Spain residents complain of mosquito infestation

Deputy Port of Spain mayor and councillor for St Ann's River North Hillan Morean says he and his colleagues have been getting complaints from residents about a mosquito infestation in the city.

He made the statement on Wednesday during the Port of Spain City Council’s monthly statutory meeting.

Morean said there are issues at the office of the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) over approval of overtime for staff to go out and spray the area.
“I don't understand the sense in a CPO being told that we need to spray for mosquitoes, which can cause disease and cause people to go to the hospital more than they need to in a time when we are trying to social-distance,” he said.

Morean asked the CEO of the PoS corporation to explain to the CPO the urgent need for disinfestation in the area.

“People are complaining everywhere. It is bad. It cannot be that a simple thing such as overtime for a short-term project is putting several burgesses in the city of Port of Spain at risk.”

Mayor Joel Martinez responded that the corporation is working with CEPEP, which agreed to make staff more available during the rainy season. He added, however, the corporation should implement a programme to deal with mosquito disinfestation.

“This is routine,” he said. “It happens every single year and something we would live with infinitely… This is an indictment against the CEO of the Port of Spain corporation.” Martinez asked the CEO to address the issue as soon as possible.
“The people complain every year and we keep making promises to them on something that should be done normally.”