Ramadharsingh: Govt on ‘relocation’ drive, Laws coming to deal with street dwellers

The Legislative Review Committee is now discussing and preparing legislation to deal with street dwellers. Minister of the People and Social Development Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh says when the legislation is finalised “much could be done.” He held a press conference yesterday, at his ministry’s office located in the CL Financial building, St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, to list the strides made by the Task Force on Street Dwelling. He had earlier met with Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing, San Fernando mayor Marlene Coudray, Arima mayor Yousseph Ghassan and other stakeholders.

Ramadharsingh said 33 street dwellers were taken off the streets since the ministry began its social and outreach programmes. He said Project Restoration, which targeted street dwellers, was able to relocate them to a rehabilitation centre. “Project Restoration was aimed to influence street dwellers to take advantage of the options available, to relocate them from the streets...These persons were not forced,” Ramadharsingh said. He said his ministry had initially set a target of 100 street dwellers for removal but because of limited resources it was not possible. He said statistics showed there were 1,200 street dwellers, and in eight months’ time, the Government was hoping to reduce that figure by 50 per cent. He said the Government would “push on” to build facilities in East Trinidad, similar to the New Horizon Centre in Piparo.  

Minister in the Ministry of People and Social Development Dr Lincoln Douglas said there were street dwellers who would have to be “forcibly removed.” “Those are the most chronic cases and we have the legislation right now which we will be taking to the Cabinet,” he said. He added that legislation would give the ministry the power to remove people who would not leave the streets voluntarily. Lee Sing, who has been at loggerheads with Douglas over street dwelling,  “confessed” yesterday that he had seen tangible progress. “As you all know, when we started off on this thing, it was a rather rocky road and it was based on my feeling that politicians say a lot of things and don’t mean it, but I want to confess here now that I am seeing tangible progress being made...slow, incremental, but tangible.”