UNC senator: Govt using URP for PNM election agenda

OPPOSITION Senator Saddam Hosein has claimed the Government has used URP employment to benefit the PNM in the upcoming elections and has called for a forensic investigation.

"The PNM has used state resources as a means to further the party's objective and fulfil its political agenda," he charged. "I have the evidence."

He was contributing to budget debate in the Senate yesterday.

Hosein claimed there was a misallocation of taxpayers' money "to undermine the democratic process in marginal constituencies" and the instrument being used was the URP. He said the increase in wages of URP workers was to take effect on December 1, the day before the local government elections.

"And while we must protect those who are vulnerable in society, the Government should not take advantage of those workers because of their situation."

Hosein said he received a bundle of documents in his mailbox "which implicates a high number of high-ranking government officials involved in a scheme to use the Treasury as the purse of the PNM."

Senate Vice President Nigel De Freitas rose and cautioned Hosein about imputing improper motives. Hosein said he promised not to call the name of anyone who was in the Senate or in the House.

He said he was told the hierarchy of the URP at the programme management level was given instructions in the constituency of La Horquetta/Talparo "that persons who belong to the 18 PNM party groups should be rostered to work with a gang of eight persons." Hosein said in a marginal constituency 144 people would be hired who belonged to a PNM party group, "Spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars for your selfish political purpose."

He said it was a scheme that would be used to influence voters in the elections and to set up PNM machinery through the URP. Hosein said he had several documents and Government Senator Foster Cummings would know about it. De Freitas again rose and told Hosein he should be careful about calling members' names.

Hosein read from a June 25, 2018 memorandum to URP regional co-ordinators in La Horquetta/Talparo to chairman of the party group number 14 San Raphael, with names signed off by Helen Wharton, chairman of party group number 14, and party group number 7 signed off by Lynette Joseph-Sandiford,d with a list of 16 names. He said he was informed that Joseph-Sandiford worked at the office of the MP for La Horquetta/Talparo.

Cummings then rose and sought to invoke standing order 46:6, on imputing improper motives, saying Hosein had made an allegation and called his name.

"I wish the member to withdraw that statement categorically."

De Freitas said he had already ruled in relation to that comment.

Hosein said the list of URP employees included "ghosts" (dead or non-existent people) and there must be a forensic investigation.

"That is what the PNM is doing with public resources."

He also responded to Finance Minister Colm Imbert's budget presentation.

"For the last four years, TT's economy was engineered by an engineer, but instead of constructing an economy, he caused it to collapse to death.

"This Rowley-led government presided over four years of austerity, frugality, pain and suffering. For four years they have imposed heavy taxes, major cuts on social programmes targeted at the poor and vulnerable, refused to open nearly-completed schools, mass overcrowding at hospitals, shortage of medication and over 63,000 persons being left jobless."

Hosein described the Government as a "millstone around the neck of a developing country."

Government Senator Avinash Singh, in his response, said Hosein came to Parliament and "brandished copybook pages" which had been written in a parlour in Cunupia.