Joint Select Committee Land and Physical Infrastructure An electronic copy of this report can be found on the Parliament website: www.ttparliament.org The Joint Select Committee on Land and Physical Infrastructure Contact the Committees Unit Telephone: 624-7275 Extensions 2828/2317/2283, Fax: 625-4672 Email: [email protected] 1 Joint Select Committee Land and Physical Infrastructure Joint Select Committee on Land and Physical Infrastructure (including Land, Agriculture, Marine Resources, Public Utilities, Transport and Works) An inquiry into the Establishment of Systems for the Maintenance of Drainage and Roadways Sixth Report of Fourth Session 2018/2019, Eleventh Parliament Report, together with Minutes Ordered to be printed Date Laid Date Laid H.o.R: Senate: Published on ________ 201__ 2 Joint Select Committee Land and Physical Infrastructure THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON LAND AND PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE Establishment 1. The Joint Select Committee on Land and Physical Infrastructure was appointed pursuant to section 66A of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The House of Representatives and the Senate on Friday November 13, 2015 and Tuesday November 17, 2015, respectively agreed to a motion, which among other things, established this Committee. Current Membership 2. The following Members were appointed to serve on the Committee: Mr. Deoroop Teemal - Chairman1 Mr. Rushton Paray – Vice Chairman Mr. Darryl Smith Mrs. Glenda Jennings-Smith Dr. Lovell Francis Mr. Franklin Khan Mr. Nigel De Freitas2 Mr. Wade Mark3 Functions and Powers 3. The Committee is one of the Departmental Select Committees, the functions and powers of which are set out principally in Standing Orders 91 and 101 of the Senate and 101 and 111 of the House of Representatives. These are available on the internet via www.ttparliament.org. 1 Mr. Deoroop Temal replaced Mr. Stephen Creese w.e.f. 27.11.2018 2 Mr. Nigel De Freitas replaced Mr. Rohan Sinanan w.e.f. 19.12.2016 3 Mr. Wade Mark replaced Mr. Daniel Solomon w.e.f. 21.03.2017 3 Joint Select Committee Land and Physical Infrastructure The Committee is mandated to inquire into areas related to Land, Agriculture, Marine Resources, Housing, Public Utilities, Transport and Works as listed in Appendix IV and V of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives and Senate respectively. Secretarial Support 4. Secretarial support was provided by Mrs. Angelique Massiah, Parliamentary Clerk II (Ag.) who served as Secretary to the Committee, Ms. Kimberly Mitchell, Assistant Secretary and Ms. Katharina Gokool, Graduate Research Assistant. Contacts 5. All correspondence should be addressed to the Secretary to the Joint Select Committee on Land and Physical Infrastructure, Level 3, Tower D, Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre, 1A Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. The telephone number for general enquiries is 624-7275 and the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. 4 Joint Select Committee Land and Physical Infrastructure ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ABBREVIATION ORGANISATION AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials MoWT Ministry of Works and Transport MoRDLG Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government RIC Regulated Industries Commission OWS Overall Water Standard GWS Guaranteed Water Standard WASA Water and Sewerage Authority PS Permanent Secretary CEO Chief Executive Officer EMA Environmental Management Authority 5 Joint Select Committee Land and Physical Infrastructure TABLE OF CONTENTS THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON LAND AND PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................. 3 Establishment ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 Current Membership ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Functions and Powers ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Secretarial Support ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Contacts ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................................. 16 REPORT SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 GENERAL FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 Current Systems for the Maintenance of Drainage ............................................................................................. 18 Current Systems for the Maintenance of Roadways ........................................................................................... 19 Programmes and Initiatives ................................................................................................................................. 23 Challenges ............................................................................................................................................................ 24 Other Observations ............................................................................................................................................. 25 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 27 Recommendations for the establishment of systems for the maintenance of Drainage and Roadways ............... 27 Current Systems for the Maintenance of Drainage ............................................................................................. 27 Current Systems for the Maintenance of Roadways ........................................................................................... 28 Programmes and Initiatives ................................................................................................................................. 31 Challenges ............................................................................................................................................................ 32 Other Observations ............................................................................................................................................. 33 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................ 35 The Ministry of Works and Transport .................................................................................................................. 35 The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Regional Corporations ............................. 36 The Water and Sewerage Authority .................................................................................................................... 37 Background to inquiry ............................................................................................................................................. 37 1. CURRENT SYSTEMS FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF DRAINGE AND ROADWAYS ........................................................ 39 Drainage ...................................................................................................................................................................... 39 6 Joint Select Committee Land and Physical Infrastructure Entities responsible for Drainage ............................................................................................................................. 39 WASA’s responsibility for Drainage ..................................................................................................................... 40 Findings .................................................................................................................................................................... 40 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................................... 40 Current Drainage Maintenance System................................................................................................................... 40 MoWT Maintenance System for Watercourses .................................................................................................. 40 Project Development ........................................................................................................................................... 41 Frequency of Drainage Maintenance Works ....................................................................................................... 42 Required