City council to give devices to Port of Spain students

Students in Port of Spain and environs will soon receive $149,800 worth of tables and laptops from the city council.

Alderman Wendell Stephen, during the first statutory meeting of the council on Wednesday, said the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Rural Development had approved the funds.

In October, last year, Stephens lambasted the council for not keeping its promise to deliver 314 devices to students in the area.

In December, he donated tablets to four students as a Christmas gift on behalf of the council.

“Members will well be aware of issues surrounding this for the past several months, where attempts were made by the city of Port of Spain to procure tablets for our children,” he said.

Stephens said after months of running into bureaucratic blocks, he thanked the CEO of the council and members of the administration for finally getting the money approved.

At the meeting, mayor Joel Martinez and several councillors expressed support for Minister of National Security and MP for Port of Spain North/St Ann;s West MP Stuart Young, who was facing a vote of no confidence in Parliament.

“Governing a country is never easy,” he said. “No matter how much you love your country, no matter how much you put into it, no matter how much you feel you are progressing, the words ‘thankless job’ really spell it out when you hear people say they have no confidence in what you have done.”

Martinez said he has received many compliments from international officials who have spoken well of Trinidad and Tobago's handling of covid19.

He said those who were furious at Young for not being allowed to enter the country were upset because they were trying to enter a safe space.