Cumberland Hill is a site that houses some of the country’s major national security infrastructure, including national communication systems for the T&T Police Service, Coast Guard, Fire Service, ambulance services and media entities — all of which are now on the verge of a disaster because of a lack of attention to upkeep by the authorities over time.
One wonders whether the authorities fully understand the importance of the site when it can be so ignored that squatters have moved in and in so doing, contributed to major infrastructural failure, including a major landslip at one of the most critical locations when it comes to accessing global information and coordination of the national security network of this country.
On Saturday, in a show of disdain and as an indication of how little he understands about the significance of the site, Communications Minister Simon de Nobriga went on a PR mission using state-owned TTT, whose own infrastructure rests on Cumberland Hill, to take images of his visit. This media house was not invited but that is not the issue. The real issue is that Minister de Nobriga, in another incarnation, was chairman of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation, which has Cumberland Hill under its purview and should know firsthand of the issues plaguing the site.
The Minister owes entities who have infrastructure on Cumberland Hill an explanation as to why the road has reached a state of collapse, making it impassable to vehicles carrying crews needing to conduct checks on critical pieces of infrastructure.
In times of natural disaster, communication is even more critical as national emergency first-responders and media houses provide services that keep citizens informed during periods of mobilisation. This site is critical in times of natural disaster to the dissemination of information to the public and also for National Security communication.
This is not just about Minister de Nobriga, this is about a general failure of those in authority, past and present, not paying attention to what is in their line of sight. Lest the Minister thinks this media house is raising the issue because we have infrastructure there, we speak for all others as well, including state-owned TTT, Digicel, Caribel, Lisa Communications, One Caribbean Media, Citadel and others.
Millions of dollars in infrastructure could collapse if those in authority do not get their act together and act quickly on this matter. As it stands now, the roadway to the site is impassable. Helicopters can airlift equipment and persons can walk part of the road but vehicles cannot traverse it. So in the event of a real national emergency or disaster, no one knows what will happen if communications infrastructure at the site also goes down.
This newspaper would like to call on National Security Council head, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, to lead the charge and get the Minister of Works cracking to resolve what may well become a crisis situation.
The Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA) has been doing yeoman service in trying to get the issue resolved. It has had some support from the Ministry of Works but much more needs to be done and quickly.
It is now time for the authorities to sit up and take charge of this situation. Cumberland Hill is too critical a site to just sit by and do nothing.