So far, he revealed, he has met with stakeholders to listen to their concerns and demands. At present, the Attorney General’s Chambers is looking at existing laws to find a modern and inclusive way to tackle noise pollution.
“We’ve held four meetings with stakeholders as it pertains to noise pollution in Gros Islet within my first 16 months of being a parliamentary rep. This included meeting with the Residents’ Association, meeting with the police, meeting also with the private sector business owners, and of course meeting collectively with the business owners and the residents,” the MP disclosed.
The MP disclosed that the government is engaging the Attorney General’s Chambers to ensure a possible amendment to the island’s current noise laws reflects citizens’ concerns. This law, he adds, would be applied island-wide.
“The only way we can deal with noise pollution is if we have a decibel level that is objectively measured, which gives the private owners something to gauge when they are plying their trade. The AG’s Chambers presented a draft on how it is we can deal with that situation and this would be for all of Saint Lucia,” Casimir explained.
He also said the solution will not be one-sided to put business owners at a disadvantage. Casimir says while the popular option is to tell nightclubs to enclose their businesses, it will be up to the discretion of the owner.
“It’s not a situation where one set of individuals will be just asked to comply with something. We will try our best to go halfway. What we will do as a government is to look at whether we provide concessions or tax relief to pretty much encourage businesses to enclose their areas,” he said.
At the start of November 2023, a lengthy and unsigned open letter claiming to be from the residents of Rodney Heights was circulating in the public domain. The letter bashed the government and sitting Gros Islet MP Kenson Casimir for the noise disturbances in the area. Investigations suggest that the letter was first published on a notable pro-opposition Party Facebook group by a well-known surrogate of the United Workers Party.