Critical drainage issues need to be sorted out immediately in South Trinidad to prevent another flooding disaster, especially if a storm hits.

Oropouche West MP Dave Tancoo says his repeated calls for assistance from the government are not being heeded.

““These PNM Ministers don’t even bother to pay lip service any more. These communities continue to be treated like bastard children of a hated parentage”, said the very upset Oropouche West MP. Stating that the Ministers are aware of the problem and the solutions but still refuse to act, Tancoo noted that hundreds of millions of dollars have been received by this Government from the Latin American Bank, C.A.F to treat with flood alleviation, yet the only thing the Government has done was to tell people to “expect flooding”. “This is the same PNM Government whose Ministers referred to flood-stricken residents of South Trinidad as “alligators in a murky lagoon” and habitually deny affected residents adequate and timely access to flood relief grants.” 

Tancoo says that urgent works must immediately be done, such as clearing water courses, digging retention ponds, dredging and cleaning rivers, and building-up the river banks.

He says this will help protect the thousands that reside in Woodland and San Francique, Gopie Trace, Suchit Trace, Ramjattan Trace, Tulsa Trace and many other flood prone areas.