Householders who fail to keep their properties maintained could soon face financial penalties, as the government moves to enforce new laws targeting overgrown housing lots across the island, said Minister of the Environment Adrian Forde.
The new regulations, under the Health Services (Amendment) Act, which take effect on November 1, empower the government to fine property owners who fail to maintain their land.
From November 1, anyone who leaves their land “in a disused state” will face penalties as outlined in the law.
Under the new rules, property owners will have a maximum of 21 days to clean their lots once notified. If the property is not cleaned within that period, the person gets an administrative penalty notice of $300, and $10 will be added every day thereafter if they continue to fail to clean up.
“We cannot have the most beautiful island in the Western Hemisphere unless we equally have all of Barbados working together to achieve this clean and green philosophy,” said Forde as he briefed reporters at the ministry’s Warrens Tower II office.
He stressed that the new rules were necessary to preserve the island’s cleanliness and beauty.
“It is unfortunate that we have now come to this juncture in our lives as Barbadians,” Forde said. “But one thing that is absolutely clear is that government must govern.”
He urged all citizens to take responsibility for their surroundings, regardless of where they live.
“I cannot imagine how a person who is enjoying the rustic beauty of St Andrew has a land plot in Christ Church or St Philip, but is only interested in the area in which they live. This is not being responsible,” the minister said. “It’s unfortunate the government had to legislate this because we believe that this should be imbued in all of us as a patriotic sense of duty.”
Minister in the Ministry of Health Davidson Ishmael, whose ministry is partnering with the Ministry of the Environment for the exercise, said the new legislation would bring relief to residents who have long complained about unkempt lots.
“I receive calls almost daily from persons who are simply annoyed and frustrated because of overgrown lots next to or around them,” he said. “The unfortunate situation is that we have persons who are not necessarily living in the area where their land is creating a nuisance for others.”
He noted that overgrown lots also pose serious public health risks.
“Mosquitoes are responsible for more deaths to human beings than any other weapon that has been formed. If we allow these insects to have environments where they can flourish, it can put all of us at risk,” Ishmael warned. “Mosquitoes don’t stay where the overgrown lot is… It has to be our collective responsibility to reduce the environments that allow these things to fester.”
Project leader Ronald Chapman explained that the new system will significantly speed up the cleanup process and ensure accountability.
“In the past, the Ministry of Health would clean the lots and send the bills to the owners. In some cases, they would recoup the money; in others, they did not,” he said. “This legislation speeds up the process of dealing with overgrown vegetation and strengthens the mechanism for recovering costs.”
He added that environmental health officers will monitor communities daily and that an additional hotline will soon be launched to make it easier for the public to report overgrown properties.
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