Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Corey Lane is urging Government to fix his City constituency’s longstanding “poor housing”.
He said this should be part of a major urban renewable initiative for Barbados, declaring that “City slums must go”.
Lane was speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday during debate on a resolution to vest land at Sargeant’s Village, Christ Church in the National Housing Corporation.
“My constituency has been known for poor housing for quite a time. As I canvass, . . . move around and…connect I see roofs that are not roofs, I see roofs that look like cheddar cheese, I see floors that are extremely dangerous, [I] fell through a couple of them myself. I see sidings attacked by the termites and the wood ants, I see pit toilets in 2022,” he said.
“I am saying that it is time that we put these issues behind us and that is why I am happy that we have a . . . Minister of Housing, a Prime Minister and a Government, that understand the turbulent times that we are in, but still understand that these social issues must be addressed . . . frontally.”
“And that is why when I think about all the various areas in my constituency, I understand that it is time for urban renewal, for urban regeneration, it is not time to talk about it, it is time to do it,” he urged.
Lane voiced concern about slum like conditions in Bridgetown and mentioned “areas like Cats Castle [and] New Orleans,…Hunte’s Street, Chapman Lane, Ellis Village too, Nelson Street, Lightfoot Lane, Sobers Lane, Mahogany Lane and the environs”.
“I think it would be criminal of me to not stand here and represent, to not stand here and advocate, to not stand and sit anywhere I go . . . today and beyond in recognition that it is time for action, not just to stand and talk, but to lobby and advocate and ensure that the housing injustice is corrected,” he said.
“I feel confident thus far that it will be, I put my confidence . . . in the Minister of Housing . . . and this administration that we are not only equal but greater than the task at hand.
“So it is now left to be seen as we put all hands on deck to ensure that we give him the support that is required…to ensure that we correct the ills of housing not just in the City of Bridgetown but . . . every single constituency, parish district and community in Barbados,” he said. (SC)
