00:00All at the back, all on top of there, where the dirt started to come down, and the whole
00:08driveway, when you go up some more you will see, was mud.
00:13And I was cleaning out while they were moving, trying to get it, and I said, you know, if
00:18something really happened, more come down, we'll get stuck in there.
00:21Charmaine Souklal took us on a tour of her former home, which is now on the verge of
00:26collapse as the land is undermined, and there are landslides at the side and the back of
00:32the house, resulting in two rooms being uninhabitable.
00:37When I came home, I saw a lot of rain, started water, started to come in, and then the lands
00:43just started to change, and then it feel like the whole shake, as the whole land came down,
00:48knocked out the whole back of my house, all the driveway, all on the left-hand side.
00:54It was a disaster.
00:56The Tobago House of Assembly relocated the family in October of 2022, but new issues
01:02have emerged, and Ms Souklal says she has been trying to contact THA officials on the
01:08matter, but her calls are not being answered.
01:12And the Tobago House of Assembly intervened?
01:14Yes, they did.
01:15They promised, well, they relocated me the very same day, and they promised to pay the
01:19rent until they find a place for me, right?
01:23And in that, we were renting Signon Hill, and then we moved to Mason Hall, where we
01:28were renting, and we're still there.
01:30But they stopped the rent, and the landlord is down with me, where they need the rent.
01:36And me and the kids, they are calling Mr Farley, are calling everybody.
01:41This is what Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and Settlements Secretary Ian Pollard said
01:47previously, during the Executive Council District Town Meeting in the Bagatelle-Bacolet
01:54District.
01:55I want to assure you, firstly, that we will not kick you out on the street, in terms of
02:00we will not end the rental arrangement until we find you a permanent place of abode.
02:09And therefore, it's in our interest, in the THA's interest, to move quickly.
02:15To continue to Ms Soeklal, the piece of the parcel of land was identified.
02:20That's in Bleming, in our housing development, because she told me what her son was doing
02:24gardening, so that was the best place, because there's extra lands behind that could be used
02:27for gardening.
02:28So that's why they were selected.
02:31With the affordable housing we are doing now, Ms Soeklal, you were number two on the list
02:34of the 25 houses instructed by the Chief Secretary to have done.
02:39The promised home in Bleming has since been built by the THA, with electrical connections
02:45to be installed.
02:46I got back to Mr Fahle and he said, yes, the house is almost finished, it's there for you,
02:51and I don't know what's happening now.
02:53Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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