The San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation will not be left without accommodation, as negotiations continue over its occupancy at MTS Plaza.
That assurance came from Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen, who pointed out that the Corporation’s lease at MTS Plaza expired in 2021 and was not renewed under the previous administration.
She said the current administration inherited the issue and has since intervened to prevent disruption to the Corporation’s operations.
“San Juan/Laventille is in this situation because the lease they had with MTS for MTS Plaza expired in 2021. Kazim Hosein was the Minister of Local Government that time. The PNM did nothing to renew that lease and secure San Juan/Laventille’s tenure there. When we came in, essentially the PNM left San Juan/Laventille homeless. When we came in, of course they had eviction notice because they were there for a long time without a proper lease.”
She said discussions are currently underway with officials from the Corporation and MTS to secure an arrangement that would allow services to continue uninterrupted.
“Let me give you the assurance San Juan/Laventille will not be homeless under the UNC. We will fix what the PNM neglected. So that issue with them being evicted and so on – we have already dealt with that. The MTS has agreed that they can continue to stay while we are in the negotiation period, and then thereafter, whether the decision is for them to stay there or move elsewhere, they will not be homeless.”