The minister is to be commended for his initiative to bring to the attention of the public the rules and regulations appertaining to the walling-off of vacant sites. The action taken was a step in the right direction as it addressed not only environmental hazards but also went a long way to improve the quality of life within residential areas.

It was also useful to remind all concerned about the procedure involved in the implementation of this valid initiative.

The importance of the application and enforcement of these regulations needs to be stressed in order make a success of this project.

On the other hand, failure to exert enforcement would result in a complete failure.

It is useless to have the legal framework in place and little or no enforcement at all. A job worth doing is worth doing well!

Local councils have lodged over 170 complaints since the new regulations came into force, but Mepa found the time and energy to issue only five enforcement notices.

That represents a mere 2.8 per cent of all the complaints lodged. A very pathetic show indeed! I am under the impression (and I stand to be corrected) that Mepa has only one person dealing with this initiative.

The employee concerned has to look up ownership of land, contact the owner, send reminders, etc.

How can Mepa exert enforcement unless the government provides it with adequate resources?

It is pertinent to point out that I have sent this letter to the minister, through the ministry's website, and it is regretted that the minister or his assistants did not find the time or courtesy to acknowledge the message, let alone take any corrective action.