Chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Social and Environmental issues, Toni Moore says 21 days to clear an overgrown lot after notification is enough time.
She said that issue, whether the daily $10 penalty was harsh and others had arisen as the group heard from a cross section of people including 40 invited entities comprising agencies, individuals, organisations, some with written proposals, others making oral presentations.
These included audit firms, the Barbados Agricultural Management Company, Barbados Agricultural Society, Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers, the National Trust, the National Heritage Department, the Red Cross, Coastal Zone Management and the Barbados Water Authority. Moore was speaking during debate in the House of Assembly yesterday on a resolution to adopt the Report of the Joint Select Committee (Standing) on the Social Sector Environment and the proposed Health Services (Nuisance) Regulations 2024 within the Health Services Bill.
Committee’s mandate
Moore said the Committee’s mandate included inquiring whether the penalties in the bill and the proposed regulations as drafted were disproportionate or unreasonable and whether the bill would be effective as part of the revisions for maintaining lands.
The committee also examined whether the Bill offered effective enforcement procedures to ensure compliance and it could recommend changes for further consideration by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel.
Among the considerations were whether the administrative daily $10 penalty was excessive and if the penalty should kick in at the point of issuance of a notice of contravention or at the point of service of a notice.
“What we spent a lot
of discussion around, was whether the time frame for clearing the land was adequate, as proposed. There were some suggestions that it should be 28 days, 30 days, or 42 days,” Moore told the House.
The longer time frame was suggested, as it was contended that some property owners might not get the notice in time to respond within 21 days, or some property owners might not have the financial means and capacity to respond within the given time to clean their property. This could include bush on the property or stuff dumped on the property.
Conscious of concerns
The Ministry of Health and the Environmental Protection Department, however, said Moore, were conscious about the health concerns, such as the time it took for mosquitoes to breed and get into the atmosphere.
“It’s [21 days response time] is not intended to be punitive, but you’re trying to arrest the issues that relate to health or that will undermine public health, and that remains the foremost concern,” the Member of Parliament for St George North said.
Moore said to be fair to property owners consideration was given to those who lived overseas, ill or hospitalised.
“When we read through the regulations and the amendments, we see the opportunity for appeals to the relief board, appeal to the court and so on,” she said.
The Committee believed that several good recommendations went before it to strengthen health services management and environmental protection management but the group felt it “was okay to go ahead with the recommendations that related to what we had in our remit”, Moore stated. ( AC)
