(Trinidad Guardian) Minister of the People Glenn Ramadharsingh says half of the 1,400 street dwellers in T&T are to be removed before Christmas. Ramadharsingh said so in his budget contribution in the post-tea session in the House of Representatives yesterday. Debate on the 2013 budget is expected to end this afternoon.
He said the Cabinet has approved a new project “that will see the beginning of the end of this problem that has infested the capital city and other parts of Trinidad and Tobago.” He said it was part of a new plan for the street dwellers which would not disrespect their basic needs.
He added: “We are determined and passionate so that we will reduce the dwellers that now number approximately 1,490 and we will like to reduce that figure to 400 before Christmas. That’s our target,” Ramadharsingh said the Centre for the Socially Displaced would be rebuilt to be “a more acceptable environment for people to live and learn and be rehabilitated.”
He said deportees entered T&T at 4 am on cargo planes sometimes. He added: “Do you know that these people are coming back from Baghdad, Iraq and parts of the world where there are wars raging and have the capacity to build bombs and destroy life and limb.”
He said his ministry was “strengthening our deportee support programme.” He said those deportees were “coming in with knowledge on how to become mafia bosses and so this work is important.” Ramadharsingh said an action committee was being formed to deal with the deportee problem.
