COME NOVEMBER 1, a new enforcement programme targeting overgrown vegetation on private housing lots will reshape how the Government addresses property maintenance and public health concerns across the island.
Launched yesterday at Warrens Towers II, Warrens, St Michael, the initiative is built on the Health Services (Amendment) Act passed in Parliament on May 12 which introduces administrative penalties for property owners who fail to maintain their land, moving away from the lengthy court processes that previously hampered clean-up efforts.
Civic responsibility
“It is unfortunate that we have now come to this juncture in our lives as Barbadians,” said Minister of the Environment and National Beautification Adrian Forde, adding that Government was forced to legislate what should be a matter of civic responsibility.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Davidson Ishmael spoke of the severity of disease transmission risks, noting that mosquitoes were responsible for many deaths worldwide.
“Mosquitoes stay where the overgrown lot is,” he warned, saying that the problem affected entire neighbourhoods, not just property owners.
The ministry has reported regular influxes of dengue cases and rodents harboured in overgrown vegetation contribute to leptospirosis outbreaks, which have resulted in deaths among Barbadians on a yearly basis.
Under the new system, environmental health officers will identify overgrown lots through daily patrols or community complaints submitted via hotline. Owners will receive an abatement notice requiring them to clean their property within a maximum of 21 days.
If the property remains uncleaned after this period, they face an administrative penalty of about $300. Government will then step in, with the National Conservation Commission handling the clean-up, and the costs will be billed to the property owner.
“This new piece of legislation allows us within this programme to deal succinctly and efficiently and effectively with a long-standing problem,” explained Ronald Chapman, the project lead for the campaign from the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
To maximise impact, the programme has categorised properties into three priority levels based on the severity of health and security risks they pose. This allows environmental health officers to address the most dangerous situations first, ensuring swift action on properties that present the greatest threat to public well-being. Ishmael urged Barbadians to see the legislation not as a burden but an opportunity to improve their surrounding and the nation. “You do not have to come into contact with this law at all. No penalties can come to you at all if you do what you’re supposed to do. Maintain your properties, maintain your open lots, keep them reduced, get them cut on a regular basis so that we will have not only a more beautiful Barbados, but we also have a healthier Barbados,” he said.
(DDS)
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