Mark: ‘It is criminal’

OPPOSITION Senator Wade Mark has accused the Government of voter padding through a community housing programme for needy citizens in marginal constituencies.

He made the accusation during debate on the Supplementary Appropriation Bill in the Senate on Wednesday.

He said Minister in the Ministry of Finance Allyson West made reference to the “Village and Housing Programme.” The Housing and Village Improvement Programme is designed to improve the housing conditions and community facilities of residents in rural and peri-urban (between town and country) areas.

“I want to ask the Government pointedly whether they are using public money, taxpayers’ money, to build houses identified by parliamentarians in marginal constituencies so that they can voter-pad and house-pad and whether that is equivalent to misbehaviour in public office,” Mark said.

He said for the last two to three years Government has been targeting four marginal communities: Moruga/Tableland, St Joseph, Toco/Sangre Grande and San Fernando West. Mark said while surveys were donein Moruga/Tableland and San Fernando West to identify needy people, in the other two constituencies the MPs were asked to identify needy people “so that they can construct homes in the marginal constituencies for PNM supporters.”

He added: “It is criminal, it is misbehaviour in public office, and it is something you will hear more from us on.”

Senate Vice President Nigel De Freitas cautioned Mark not to impute improper motives.

Mark said he called on the Housing Minister to dispute what he is saying. “I am not imputing improper motives. The PNM Government is using taxpayers’ money to target marginal constituencies.” He added: “I don’t like advantage. I don’t like injustice.”

He also expressed concern over the $300 million loan facility for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) in the appropriation and pointed out that the last audited account from the THA was in 2007. He stressed there must be a system of accountability before the THA is given the power to raise money on the open market.

Mark also called for information on Atlantic Train One and NCB Global Finance, a “fly by night” financial institution which provided a $180 million loan to Udecott and a number of other companies in the state sector.

On the economy, he said Government was also supporting the banking industry and “a clique of economic elite,” but not squatters, security guards and ordinary people. He said claims of economic growth were a fallacy and the economy was still experiencing macroeconomic instability with declining foreign exchange reserves, rising levels of public-sector debt, including foreign debt, and increasing levels of unemployment and underemployment.

“The premise the economy is growing or grown is a figment of their imagination.”

He said the country must have one per cent inflation “because nobody buying anything.”

“The Government under this regime has crashed the economy. People have lost confidence in the Government.”