00:00Getting an HDC house for most people would be a dream come true.
00:05And for some who receive them, they are grateful.
00:08But there are those who have received a home,
00:11and it's been a nightmare dealing with the many infrastructural issues they inherit,
00:16like here in Gomez Trace, St. Mary's Village, Moruga.
00:20We have structural issues, drainage issues, sewer problems, landslip, roadway.
00:26These homes, she says, were built by a Manning-led government
00:30and distributed under a Rowley-led administration.
00:34And many letters have been filed to address serious superstructure shortcomings,
00:39prompting Monday's walkthrough with Minister in the Ministry of Housing, Philip Alexander.
00:45I've seen madness.
00:46I cannot believe that people were left living in circumstances that put their families in harm's way.
00:53There's a lot of danger here.
00:55A proper earthquake could throw some of these structures down.
01:00In cases where more than 30% of the support columns have to be retrofitted and replaced,
01:09those buildings should have been torn down.
01:11He says a technical team with engineers will be sent to this location
01:16and a file submitted to the line minister in quick time
01:19for recommendations and an action plan on how to assist those most affected.
01:25Those who have bought houses, they have to be compensated for that.
01:31They have money outside.
01:33A lot of these people have also gone beyond the value of the house
01:36by spending their own money, just keeping these structures standing.
01:41So we have to look at all of that.
01:43Everybody needs to keep their bills and their invoices for work that was done.
01:46He says they are also going to find out why the majority of HTC sites they've visited
01:51have problems with their sewer management systems.
01:55We were at Lakeview in Point Fortin.
01:58The raw sewage coming from the homes bypassing the sewage plant
02:01and going straight into the dam that feeds in the water is a terrible situation.
02:06We have to have conversation with a lot of the suppliers.
02:10There are situations where there are contracts in place
02:13where the contractors are being paid monthly for the provision of a service
02:19that is not being provided.
02:20We need to get on top of all of that.
02:22Cindy Raguba, Tika Singh, TV6 News.
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