In the event of a crisis situation, Port-of-Spain Mayor Louis Lee Sing fears the city's emergency evacuation/egress plan may "fall flat on its face" if Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh continues to ignore the Corporation's call for him to make adequate provisions for the students and staff of over 52 schools in the city. "In so far as our (Council) responsibilities hold for the evacuation plan (estimated to cost $1 million) our work is completed and we await the Minister of Education who has a critical role to play. "Port-of-Spain is blessed with 52 schools and his role in so far as to whether children should go home or not is crucial in the event that a natural disaster or a major flood confronts us," he said. Lee Sing was speaking with the Sunday Guardian when he expressed his "pity" over the view that the Minister (Gopeesingh) was "too busy to treat with this matter" for close to five months. "Our plan has everybody on board...you name it. The only missing link is the Ministry of Education," he added.
Still waiting for Education Minister's input
In a letter dated January 17, 2011 and addressed to Gopeesingh, Lee Sing had sought to schedule "an early meeting" in order to "include" in the city's egress plan, "all schools within Port-of-Spain and its environs." A response, which was later communicated to the Corporation three days later (January 20) via an e -mail sent by Gopeesingh's personal assistant, had confirmed receipt of the letter and that Lee Sing's request (for a meeting) "was passed on to the Honourable Minister." Lee Sing said the matter had been actively pursued by the Corporation since then and alluded to the efforts made by the Council's chairman of the security committee Councillor Robin Bynoe, who, despite his many telephone correspondence, was unsuccessful in making any headway. "We are still where we are," he added.
Lee Sing said, however, that in the absence of any feedback from Gopeesingh, he was prepared to enforce the plan as is.."I have no doubt that (if necessary) we will have to enforce it and make provisions for how we would then communicate with the Minister of Education," he said. Lee Sing said the plan caters for "over 49,000 burgesses and more than 250,000" people in the city "on any given day". Attempts to reach Gopeesingh for comment were unsuccessful though a message (conveying Lee Sing's claims) was left on his phone.