BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A further delay in the distribution of homes is anticipated following news that five others in the Pine Gardens area had been broken into over the past weekend and electrical transformers were stolen.
SKNVibes was among other media operates who visited the site today (May 9), along with the Minister of Human Settlement the Hon. Eugene Hamilton and some of his staff members.
At a first glance at one of the units, it was observed that the glass window positioned next to the front door was broken and the mesh removed. And upon entering the unit, it was discovered that broken glass had littered the floor and a transformer that was mounted on a wall by the stairwell had been removed.
Hamilton told the media that this is the second set of break-ins to have taken place over the past couple of weeks; the first occurring at the same location and also at Green Tree.
He said two transformers were previously stolen from two units in Pine Gardens and one on this occasion from each of the five units that were vandalized.
“And since the announcement that they would be distributed, there seemed to be a person or persons who have set about to break into these apartments; the first three in Green Tree and two here. And here they removed two transformers at that time. Now they have broken into another five and have removed five transformers on this occasion. So in total we have lost seven transformers here in such a short time with an average of about $2,000 per transformer. That’s $14,000 on transformers alone, let alone the windows”.
The Minister made a call to the Parliamentary Representative for the area, the Hon. Marcella Liburd, to “come out and make a statement on the break-ins and the removal of the transformers or anything at all from these buildings. I would trust that it is not language used by the Opposition that is fueling this, and I expect her to be a responsible person and to encourage any supporters of hers, in fact the entire country, to desist from breaking into the property which is public property for the time being and built with tax payers’ money”.
Hamilton said the practice of breaking into homes and stealing from them would not be tolerated and indicated that once the perpetrator(s) is caught, prosecution would take place.
“…the Ministry is very troubled, we have already engaged the police officers and we are also going to beef up security in the meantime. Anyone found committing these acts would be dealt with according to the law. There will be no letting up on prosecuting anyone who is found committing these crimes.”
As for distribution of the units, Hamilton said the break-ins are not the only reasons for the delay as repairs would also have to be done. He however suggest that the houses would have to be distributed as quickly as possible.
