August 23, 2017: “The residents of Las Lomas are going to get a facility that is second to none”, as promised by Minister of Public Administration and Communications and Member of Parliament for La Horquetta/Talparo, the Honourable Maxie Cuffie during his welcome remarks, at the official sod-turning ceremony for the Las Lomas #2 Community Centre on Tuesday 22nd August, 2017.
The new Las Lomas #2 Community Centre will feature a 9,400 sq facility inclusive of a training kitchen for the culinary arts and science, administrative offices, class rooms, audio visual room, gym, computer lab, male/female dressing rooms, an auditorium with a 200-person seating capacity, and stage. The facilities will be fully accessible to differently-abled persons and air-conditioned, and will cost TT$9.7m to construct. “Every village and every member in the community gets an equal share of the resources…” said Minister Cuffie.
During his remarks, Minister Cuffie paid tribute to the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts and its Minister, Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby Dolly as well as the Urban Development Corporation (UDeCOTT) for their continued collaborations to make the whole-of -government approach a reality. As he highlighted some of the infrastructural works and community-centred programmes currently being implemented in his constituency of La Horquetta/Talparo, Minister Cuffie expressed his appreciation to the two agencies for their commitment and diligence to ensuring that the residents of Las Lomas have access to a state-of-the-art facility for improved social engagement.
Minister Gadsby Dolly, in her feature address pointed out that this was the third such sod-turning event being done by her Ministry to inform residents that the Ministry and by extension the Government, has the needs of the people as priority. She expressed that community development was at the centre of the heart of the Ministry and she said that its present focus “was working hand-in-hand with UDeCOTT to ensure that we deliver these centres”.
She told residents that, “this centre will be your centre to use as you see fit” with the guidance from the Ministry to ensure that it remains in a proper condition.
The ceremony also saw a special presentation by Minster Cuffie to President of the Las Lomas Women’s Group, Nirmala Omadath. Other guests included Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Angela Edwards; UDeCOTT Chairman, Noel Garcia and CEO, Frank Barnes; Councillor for Las Lomas/San Rafael, Balmati Gosyne and Aldermen for Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Chandricka Sahadeo and Candida Pathron.
Pictured (l-r) Alderman for Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Candida Pathron; CEO Urban Development Corporation (UDeCOTT), Frank Barnes; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Angela Edwards; Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Dr. the Hon. Nyan Gadsby-Dolly; UDeCOTT Chairman, Noel Garcia; Member of Parliament for La Horquetta/Talparo, the Hon. Maxie Cuffie; Councillor for Las Lomas/San Rafael, Balmati Gosyne; President of the Las Lomas Women’s Group, Nirmala Omadath; Alderman for Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Chandricka Sahadeo.