THE $35 million Guayaguayare Fishing Landing Facility, completed by the Kamla Persad-Bissessar Administration, remains abandoned while the community is continuing to suffer.
Fishermen of Trinidad’s south-eastern districts are operating from shanty shacks, vulnerable to vandals and bandits.
The discarded fishing facility, which was part of the Point Galeota Phase 1 Port Upgrade, has been left to stray animals and weeds.
There were reportedly construction design issues on the facility, which was piloted by the Patrick Manning Government in 2009.
Fishermen and Mayaro Member of Parliament Rushton Paray have criticised the administration of Dr. Keith Rowley for not redesigning the facility and putting it to use.
There are calls for the landing site to be reconstructed in order for it to be accessed during low tide.
While the amenity is laid to waste, hardworking fishermen are subjected to the elements and criminals and are made to operate in difficult circumstances.
One fisherman suggested that the facility could be put to use as an ice station, a market and for other community purposes.
MP Paray has recommended that the structure be utilised as a tourism landing site, a weekend market, a cultural venue, a tour operator’s facility, and a family fishing jetty.
He said the abandonment of the facility is an example of the Government’s inability to create a sustainable and innovative economic environment.
Many Guayaguayare residents depend on the fishing industry to make a living and are aggrieved that the authorities have discarded the amenity.
One fisherman said: “The people in office clearly do not care for us.
“It would not take much to fix the design problem and put the port to use.
“Fishing is important to us in this part of the country.”
Several residents were critical of Clarence Rambharat, who served as Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries after unsuccessfully contesting the Mayaro electoral constituency in 2015.
The residents said that Rambharat had a responsibility to remedy the issue.
The Ministry has said that its Fisheries Division is having dialogue with the affected fishermen.
But the Guayaguayare fishing community wants decisive action and not just discussions.
They are seeking a good landing site and safe and adequate space to process their operations and store their engines and other tools of their trade.
Instead, they continue to face abandonment and neglect from the authorities while they struggle to make a living.
