Residents at the Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) Clifton Towers in east Port-of-Spain who have been running scared and begging relocations have been assured that the HDC is currently working on solutions.
One day after residents came forward saying that their living conditions are “like Baghdad,” with them being attacked and threatened on a daily basis by thugs, HDC’s managing director, Brent Lyons said that relief was on the way for them.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Lyons said they are making attempts to bring back normalcy to the community.
“The HDC takes the safety and security of its tenants seriously, and, as such, has been working closely with the T&T Police Service and other security providers to bring about normalcy to its communities,” Lyons said.
“These efforts have been yielding positive results thus far and the HDC will continue to work diligently on this matter,” he added.
However, this response by Lyons was not favourably received by one of the residents, Desire Slinger-Griffith.
In an immediate response, Slinger-Griffith said she has been hearing that a solution is in the works for far too long.
“In October during a visit by Mr Lyons he said solutions were on the way yet still nothing. It’s not only now this thing happening you know since in the time when Ms Jearlean John was around. I sent so many letters to her and since then promises being made to address our problems and still nothing today,” Slinger-Griffith said.
“The longer HDC take to act the worse here is going to get…in fact HDC is the cause for this ongoing problem here,” she added.
Last Thursday, police officers moved in and evicted illegal people who have been said to be residing at the Towers.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, during an address to the nation the following day (last Friday), confirmed that some home owners were being chased out of their homes while others faced house invasion by people who had no respect for law and order at Clifton Towers.