Imbert, are you listening?

MINISTER Imbert, are you listening?

In telling a Joint Select Committee (JSC) yesterday that councillors face being thrown out onto the street at the end of this month over non-payment of rent for their offices, Princes Town Regional Corporation chairman Gowrie Roopnarine said he hopes one of the people listening in on the JSC meeting is Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

Roopnarine was speaking as officials of the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation, Princes Town Regional Corporation and Local Government Ministry met with the JSC on Local Authorities yesterday at the Parliament building.

His comments came two weeks after Imbert announced that the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation would be receiving releases for its rentals as the councillors from that corporation were facing eviction. "I am really hoping that one of the persons who were listening today is the Minister of Finance," Roopnarine told the meeting yesterday.

He said at the corporation there are some of the tenants where are councillors' offices are located have been sending letters to him that they will be evicted by the end of the month.

"Because for this year we have not received any funding to pay these land owners (or) even the councillors' stipend to run their own offices there is no funding," Roopnarine said.

He also reported that in January there was a correspondence to the Finance Ministry to sort out the chairman's fund; it was earlier reported that fees that were being paid to the chairman's fund were now being placed in the consolidated fund following a directive by the Finance Ministry. Roopnarine said the chairman's fund was not being used to fete or lime but to uplift the youths and the needy.

"And for the Easter gone we could not have the opportunity to give a group that tried to better their lives as much as a $500." JSC chairman Varma Deyalsingh said there will be a report shortly from the committee and expressed hope it will lead to some relief to burgesses of the municipal corporations.

Deyalsingh at the start of the meeting said there were some very alarming issues at the various corporations including files being waterlogged, accounting mechanisms lacking, fraudulent cheques and CEOs being placed under scrutiny. He said the Local Government Ministry has to challenge on how to monitor CEOs. "The common thread we see is that corruption occurs at all corporations."

JSC member Khadijah Ameen also asked about two cases of fraud by an external company which paid "bounce" cheques to the Princes Town Regional Corporation. Corporation financial officer Mahabir Gheesan said since the incident any person or company making a payment must do so in cash or certified cheque. Corporation CEO Sheriffa Heru confirmed the contractor was no longer being allowed to tender for projects.

The corporation officials also expressed concern about a list of contractors that had been submitted to the Central Tenders Board since 2015 which still had not been approved. Local Government Ministry Permanent Secretary Jennifer Daniel said the board had informed the ministry informally the list was in abeyance as the new procurement system was being put in place, and in the interim the use of open tendering by corporations is acceptable.