Lee: What's happening to the refinery?

OPPOSITION WHIP and Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee on Tuesday questioned what will be the fate of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery.

He posed this question in his budget contribution in the House of Representatives.

Recalling there was once talk about the refinery being operational within 12-18 months after its closure in 2018, Lee said, "What is the status of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery? Today, we don't know."

He said the refinery has been languishing and may not be attractive to any buyer.

Its closure ripped the heart out of Pointe-a-Pierre, he said.

On September 24, Energy Minister Franklin Khan said he expected to receive word about the sale of the refinery in seven-nine days. He said some challenges were being handled by the attorneys involved.

On November 7, 2019, Patriotic Energies and Technologies, owned by the Oilfield Workers Trade Union made a US$700 million bid to buy the former Petrotrin plant, which is now mothballed.

Lee also claimed flooding has become a national crisis and Government is not serious about addressing this problem. He said the 2020/2021 budget is filled with failed promises which the PNM had failed to deliver over the last five years.

Lee declared, "There has been no growth, no innovation in this country over the last five years under this Minister of Finance (Colm Imbert)."

He alleged that under Imbert, TT has recorded successive economic declines from 2015-2019. Lee said statements Imbert made in his budget about issues such as the creation of special economic zones and recruitment of graduates into government ministries were made in successive budgets over the last five years.

Referring to Housing Minister Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, he asked her to be fair in the distribution of government housing to citizens.

"I have not been able to get one house for my constituents."