Housing applicants have been trying everything in the book to secure a roof over their heads, and Minister Roodal Moonilal obviously has been their main target.
It’s a problem that Moonilal said he can’t get away from as throngs of applicants have been swarming him everywhere—at funerals, weddings, hotels, restaurants and even on airplanes.
With the demand for housing reaching 160,000, Moonilal said he has been avoiding social events outside work hours.
Moonilal said he carries on his shoulders the burden of trying to solve the country’s chronic housing shortage.
At a funeral recently, Moonilal said while standing over the casket to view the body, he was approached by a mourner seeking shelter.
“While travelling first class on a plane from London to Trinidad somebody in the economy class break away and pull down the blinds to ask me for a house,” Moonilal said.
In New York, at the Marriott Hotel, Moonilal said he was feeling unwell and had asked the front desk for a tablet.
“An employee of the hotel brought the tablet and asked if I was the minister of housing in Trinidad. She said her sister lives San Juan and begged me to help her.”
Asking a restaurant employee for a bill after ordering food is just as bad.
“Instead of getting the bill you get someone’s cell number,” Moonilal added.
“I had to stop making restaurants bookings. That tells you the level of desperation and need. I understand their vulnerability. You cannot be a minister of housing and be impatient and arrogant when dealing with human suffering.”
At the 2013 Point Fortin Borough Day Moonilal said he was also bombarded by members of the public.
Moonilal said because of his repeated encounters he avoids going out unless absolutely necessary.