Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath has called for an end to the “silo” mentality among Government agencies, warning that fragmented operations are undermining disaster preparedness.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a regional workshop on weather forecasting at the Hyatt Regency on Tuesday morning, he said, “Too often we duplicate work without speaking to each other. That lack of communication is a recipe for disaster.”
He added that this has created serious challenges, particularly in terms of infrastructural development, flood mitigation and flood management across the region.
The Minister also announced plans to modernise Trinidad and Tobago’s meteorological infrastructure.
“For far too long our region, we have not invested as we should have with respect to research and development. And right off the bat, I can tell you one of the initiatives in the Ministry of Public Utilities that we intend to speak more on as months progress, and that has to do with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago’s investment in terms of technology.”
The Public Utilities Minister also mentioned that moves are afoot to upgrade technological infrastructure at TSTT, which can lend assistance to the Met Service.
“And one of the things that we are looking at doing is ensuring that TSTT evolves so that we can provide technical support and investment in technology that will assist in areas like Meteorological Services.”