TriniView.com Reporters
Interview Recorded: November 29, 2005
Posted: December 07, 2005
Mr. Imraz Ali, the Chairperson of the Events Committee for the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, has shed some light on the workings of this bureaucratic organization with regards to its aims and function. He also mentioned some of the future ambitions of the Corporation. Mr. Ali began by giving his take on the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation Week and later discussed briefly the Sugar and Energy festival. Below are his views that have been taken from a recorded interview that was done on the 29th November, 2005.
At the beginning of October 2005, we had a Corporation week and we invited the public to attend. We had booths around the Corporation itself, and we had free giveaways like snacks and drinks which, were basically for the kids. We also had other activities like plays and skits… everybody was invited.
The Corporation week went on to the 4th and 5th October 2005, and it was held in the Inshan Ali Promenade on the Couva Southern Main Road. There was an opening ceremony on Tuesday 4th October 2005, and each one of the departments had their own booth stating the function of the department e.g. what we do for the community, what are our duties, the progress the community has made and some of the things we plan to do in the future. All the departments were involved.
We also have the Municipal Police and they assist the Corporation more like the police service. In their department we engage with ODP (Office of Disaster Preparedness). This building here is one of the shelters in the event of any disaster. We also assist the community and the people within the community in the event of any disaster. For example, if their roof gets blown off or anything like that or areas that may flood, we would assist in getting them out of that situation. The Corporation itself came up with a disaster plan in order to help the community.
Some of the new innovations with regards to the Corporation are our recently built bridge on Lightbourne in Bonne Aventure Road, Gasparilo, which was built within the period of two to three days. We also have events coming up and we try to up keep the events. The basic duties of the Corporation are geared toward the up keep of the cemeteries, recreational grounds and pavilions. We have the Public Health Department which is in charge of cleaning out the clogged drains and the cesspit tanks. We have the truck borne water which they supply to the different areas; they engage in cleaning and picking up of the garbage (garbage collection) at the side of the road, they clean the residence yard, like picking up any junk amongst other things. They perform these duties on a daily basis. The County Superintendent area, which is the technical aspect of the Corporation, has different responsibilities. They do the drafts for the drains - like box drains or if they have to construct a pavilion and they also maintain the bridges to ensure they are always safe for usage. We have the W.S. (Work Supervisor) section and they are in charge of the maintenance of the promenade. They also maintain the cremation sites and the cemeteries to make sure they are cleaned and properly maintained.
There is a sense of community in this region and in our jurisdiction we have something called the Village Council in different areas. If there are any events like a bazaar or fund raising we would assist. However they (members of the Village Council) would have to send in a request for assistance stating the nature of the event and the cleaning that might be required. We would assist however best we can once we have availability of resources. This is applied to all the areas within our jurisdiction and these areas go as far as Couva, Tabaquite, Talparo, Gasparillo, Cunapia, Claxton Bay and all the other areas, once they are within our jurisdiction. All the areas request our assistance and we try to provide the service that they ask for as much and as best as possible. The club centers and community centers also request our assistance and we try our best to provide the best assistance. Once we have availability of resources, we do our best to help whenever a request is made.
We pay particular attention to the activities planned to ensure they are community related and we do believe that certain activities would benefit the community on the whole. We try to get the togetherness of everybody because our Corporation is really about unity.
Recently we had the Sugar and Energy Festival and we had a showcase of these things. We also assisted them in cleaning up the area. The origins of the Sugar and Energy Festival really came about a good few years ago with the industries in the area. All the high industry areas like the Candy Sugar Factory and the Point Lisas Industrial Estate came up with the Sugar and Energy Festival. There was a time when we had something like a small Carnival and it used to go on for a week. They had different activities every night and close to the end they would have a little carnival with carts, booths with displays and giveaways. It used to be on the Southern Main Road going straight down to the Gilbert Park. They used to have praying going down on the road which was on a Sunday morning; that was also the final day of the Sugar and Energy.
The purpose of this festival was really to get everybody, not only within the area but nationwide, to come and see the developments of this region. It was also for people to see what they actually did to get the togetherness and unity of everybody so that they could participate in the activities they planned out for the week.
A lot of these people come together from all different parts of the country and they look forward to the Sugar and Energy Festival. They also take part in the various activities provided. Another objective of the festival is to try to promote employment within this Regional Corporation and it is successful in doing so every year.
One of the major plans for both the Corporation and the region are for us to try and better the individual as well as the people in our society. What we do is implement plans, like getting the community to develop themselves by forming councils or little village groups to come together and improve their area. The Corporation itself is not in a position to go house to house to try to do these things so we try to get the groups together and work with them in order to make the changes that are necessary for improvement.
Out of the whole struggle for betterment within the community, I hope that the plans that the Councilors and the Chairman of the Corporation have will be successful and that they get more involved with the work in order to get through to the people.
Also Read:
A Brief History of Couva
The Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation
Couva Photo Album:
www.triniview.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=136528
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