Jack estimates $200M to fix problems in Matelot and other north-east communities

Jack Warner told reporters Saturday it would take about $200 million to deal with the infrastructure needs of Matelot and other communities on Trinidad's north-east coast.

The Works and transport minister made a tour of the area Saturday.

“From my experience, what we are seeing there, all the work here is bound to cost more than $200 million at a minimum,” he said after a tour of Matelot. “If it hadn’t been neglected as it had been, it would have cost much less. It is because it has been neglected so badly. That is why it is costing so much,” he added.

Warner was accompanied by Hayden Phillips, manager of the Programme for Upgrading Road Efficiency (PURE) and officials from the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation. The MP for the area, Tourism Minister Dr Ruper Griffith, had invited Warner to visit the area.

Warner assured people living in the neglected areas that he will attend to the infrastructural needs of the district, especially with respect to land slippage, poor drainage and dilapidated roadways and bridges. All those problem would soon be a thing of the past, he told them. .

“We came today with the engineers and the PURE company, I have seen, and believe you me, I am giving you the assurance that we will fix the roads, we will fix the bridges and we shall also initiate a bus service all on the request of the Member of Parliament for this area,” he said.

People told Warner that the area had been neglected by the former PNM government which, they alleged, issued contracts to outsiders and not villagers. The Newsday newspaper quoted one man as saying, “For over 30 years, no meaningful work took place in the area.”

Warner promised to make Matelot a paradise once more. “If ever any place has been forgotten, Matelot has been and I want to commend the Member of Parliament for bringing us here today. We would not have known this unless he had not told us.

“So, I want to admit that Matelot has been a forgotten village. That will be a thing of the past and now Matelot will be embraced as anywhere else.”

Phillips explained that his department will develop a strategic approach to deal with the problems. He said he is getting information from a report done by Dutch experts. "What we want to do right away, though, is deal with the sea wall, the MP asked us to deal with it,” said Phillips.

“It cannot be done in a short space of time, but we are going to look at the critical areas first and from next month, people will see the strategic approach being taken, the worst areas first and continuing.”