Black Immigrant Daily News

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March 2022 file photo at Salvia lane Pleasantville, where several homes are being threatened by a landslip to the back of their properties. Photo by Lincoln Holder

SAN Fernando East MP Brian Manning is seeking to help some of his constituents who are affected by a landslip behind their homes and others who are homeless after a recent fire.

Manning, who is also Minister in the Ministry of Finance, expressed this sentiment on Monday after separate meetings with those affected. He was accompanied by Pleasantville councillor Robert Parris.

He spoke with the media at Salvia Lane, Pleasantville, where some residents are adversely affected by a landslip.

“You can see behind me that work has already begun on preserving this row of houses here.”

Manning said some of the houses were on the verge of sliding into a ditch created by the landslip. Five houses were directly threatened.

Manning pointed out that the land was slanting to one side.

“Every time it rained. I had a sleepless night worrying about this community. We were very, very much concerned about it.”

Manning said he had raised the issue in Parliament recently and worked assiduously with the Rural Development and Local Government Ministry to get some relief for Salvia Lane residents.

He was pleased that work to repair the landslip has started.

“I am glad that we caught it in time.”

The Rural Development and Local Government Ministry, he said, estimated it could cost $2 million to repair the landslip. He added that the ministry has contingencies for these kinds of situations.

Asked about the cause of the landslip, Manning said it could be the topography – the natural and artificial physical features of the area. He added one of those features could be an underground spring.

Parris said the landslip happened last year but had worsened recently. He added that the San Fernando City Corporation is doing what it can to help the residents.

Ricky Parson, an official from contractor Zorinda Maintenance, estimated it could take three months to repair the landslip.

Resident Ian Small was happy that repair work had started.

“I had sleepless nights. I had high blood pressure.”

Small has lived at Salvia Lane for the last 12 years. But the house he lives in is owned by his family and has been there for 25 years.

Small said the slippage began last May. He lost a water tank which fell down into the landslip, and the house suffered superficial cracks.

Small said he never heard the land shifting at night but saw the results of it in the day.

Another resident, Carol Collins, was also happy that work on the landslip has started.

She was in tears as she spoke about having to deal with it.

“It has been very uncomfortable. I had very much sleepless nights because of the landslip. It has not been easy.”

Collins spoke about cracks inside her house and a shop at the front.

“At the back of the house, the land has been separated from the house.”

Collins and her 84-year-old mother live together in the house.

Manning and Parris also visited with Kathyann Telesford and her family whose home at Coconut Boulevard, Pleasantville was destroyed by fire on August 8.

Shortly after the fire, Manning said approaches were made to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and other agencies for assistance. He added that the HDC offers emergency housing in particular situations.

Hesaid he will look at what other assistance could be given to Telesford and her familly.

Parris said they have been given food assistance through Manning’s constituency office as well as through the corporation.

“We are going to offer as much assistance as we can.”

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The handing over of keys to the first fifty (50) three-bedroom homes under construction by the Ministry of Housing and Water – Central Housing and Planning Authority at Plot 1768 Cummings Lodge, Georgetown will commence in the next two months.

Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, along with CHPA Director of Projects, Omar Narine and senior engineers visited the construction site over the weekend.

“By October we should begin handing over keys to the beneficiaries of the fifty houses,” the Minister stated while noting that the Ministry is satisfied with the pace of contractors on the flat homes.

Each moderate-income home is approximately one thousand and thirteen square feet and contains three bedrooms; a living room; a kitchen with cupboards and a single drain board sink; and one complete bathroom. The construction cost for each unit is $9 million. A number of persons, who previously applied for housing units, have already been prequalified for the homes.

The Minister also announced that the Ministry will be constructing another 100 two-bedroom moderate-income homes in the Cummings Lodge, adding to the 200 similar units originally built in the area. Contracts for the construction of these homes are expected to be awarded shortly.

These projects have significantly impacted the neighbouring community of Sophia, as more than 200 youths have been employed through the initiative and the demand for the houses continues to soar.

“When we started here there was a lot of stigma attached to the location but right now there are a lot of persons requesting houses in Cummings Lodge […] That shows the impact of the government’s housing drive because it is not only about creating employment but also uplifting communities,” the Minister said.

Minister Croal underscored that providing alternative options to lands for citizens will remain a key focus over the coming years. By the end of the 2022, the Ministry expects to have at least one thousand (1,000) homes under construction, with several projects in Regions Four, Six, Seven and Ten. Soon the Ministry of Housing and Water will be publishing Expressions of Interest aimed at local contractors who are interested in building homes under these projects, as it aims to utilize materials and labour from the respective communities. (CH&PA release)

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Además de los problemas en infraestructura en más  del 40 por ciento de las escuelas públicas, los maestros comenzarán un nuevo semestre escolar sin conocimiento de cuál es el nuevo currículo que pretende implantar el Departamento de Educación, según reveló el lunes el liderato de la Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (AMPR).

“(El plan) no lo tenemos claramente, porque la versión final se presentó el (pasado) viernes y no hemos tenido tiempo para ver cada programa. Sabemos que se va a incluir en las materias básicas y electivas, pero responsablemente, no te puedo decir como va a ser, porque no lo hemos estudiado a fondo”, dijo el presidente de la Asociación de Maestros, Víctor Manuel Bonilla Sánchez en conferencia de prensa.

“Los adiestramientos (sobre los cambios en el currículo) no han comenzado. Ni lo de la enseñanza de equidad y respeto ni los cursos nuevos han comenzado”, añadió el secretario general de la Local Sindical, Ángel Javier Pérez Hernández.

“¿O sea, no se sabe a este momento como van a arrancar con el Plan?”, se le preguntó.

“Es que realmente hay plan. Porque si ellos tienen un plan, nosotros no sabemos cuál es. Y estamos cuestionando el comienzo real de esa transición, porque como vamos a evaluar a esos estudiantes si realmente los talleres de los nuevos documentos no están publicados”, sostuvo.

A juicio de Pérez Hernández, pasarán mínimo tres años académicos antes de poder medir si realmente los cambios en el currículo lograron su objetivo.

En una entrevista el pasado mes de junio, el secretario de Educación, Eliezer Ramos Parés expresó que la mayoría de los cambios en el currículo se reflejan en cambios de materias por grados.

“Después de muchas consultas con el magisterio, muchas consultas igualmente con padres, con expertos de la Academia se han modificado objetivos en ese currículo, cosas que a lo mejor estaba en grado diez, las vamos a ver en grado 11, cosa que estaba en 11, las vamos a ver en noveno. Así que hay una revisión completa de lo que estaba ocurriendo. Había unas críticas históricas de maestros, sobre todo en las áreas de matemáticas y español, de que entendían que había unas cosas que se estaban haciendo, que todavía no estaban para el estudiante de ese grado en particular. Así que muchas de esas cosas se están atendiendo”, mencionó el secretario.

Además, se añadirán, no como cursos adicionales, sino como parte de la oferta académica, otros tipos de enseñanza.

“Igual muchas materias y cosas, obligaciones de ley que de momento surgían, que no se estaban dando, (como) educación financiera, el tema de valores, el tema del civismo, de emprenderismo, de perspectiva de género, Todos estos temas básicamente se trabajan de manera transversal. Quiere decir que no hay una clase para ellos en particular, sino que se está trabajando dentro de las materias como las conocemos”, expresó.

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El secretario del Departamento de Educación (DE), Eliezer Ramos Parés, luego de una reunión con alcaldes adscritos a la Asociación de Alcaldes con miras a que sean los municipios quienes aporten al mantenimiento de las escuelas públicas, no existe un mecanismo para transferir el dinero que necesitan los ayuntamientos.

“Al Departamento (de Educación) no poder transferir dinero necesariamente (a los alcaldes), tenemos que establecer procesos, establecer documentación. Probablemente tengamos que ir a aquella orden de emergencia del gobernador, quizás hacerle unos cambios muy particulares que nos permitan tener ese mecanismo en función lo más pronto posible para que nuestros alcaldes se sumen a la gesta histórica que ya está comenzando”, dijo Ramos Parés a preguntas de la prensa.

En ese tono reaccionó el alcalde de Comerío, Josean Santiago, quien le solicitó tanto al ejecutivo como a la rama legislativa a que rompan con la burocracia y permitan que los municipios puedan recibir los fondos para el mantenimiento de las escuelas de sus respetivos pueblos.

“Habemos alcaldes con la capacidad y la disposición de hacer el trabajo, de Asociación y de Federación (de alcaldes), pero tiene que romperse con esa burocracia. Nosotros hemos demostrado que siempre hemos estado disponibles y siempre estamos presentes. Pero tienen que enviarnos los recursos, y nosotros nos encargamos”, dijo el ejecutivo municipal.

Sobre las denuncias emitidas por la Asociación de Maestros en el sentido que las escuelas públicas no están aptas para comenzar el semestre escolar, Ramos Parés respondió que: “Yo le puedo garantizar a Puerto Rico que la gran mayoría de nuestras escuelas sí están listas para recibir a nuestros estudiantes. Que en la gran mayoría de nuestras escuelas sí ha atendido los temas de seguridad para poder entrar”. “Queremos más. Queremos tenerlas en mejores condiciones. Hay algunas de esas escuelas que han sido emblemáticas, en este mensaje que queremos llevar en escuelas que no se han pintado en 15 o 20 años, en escuelas que realmente su mantenimiento ha sido deficiente por las últimas décadas, eso no desaparece de la noche a la mañana. Eso requiere de un plan estructurado y de responsabilidad a la hora de hacer la inversión”, añadió.

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