Princes Town regional corp chair queries purpose of new road repair company

PRINCES Town Regional Corporation chairman Gowrie Roopnarine questioned the reasoning behind a proposal to establish a company within the Rural Development and Local Government Ministry to fix roads.

He posed the question during a UNC pre-budget consultation at the Tableland High School on Saturday.

At a PNM public meeting in Belmont on August 23, the Prime Minister acknowledged the bad state of the country’s roads and promised to focus on road improvement.

Dr Rowley said because of the $13 billion budget deficit in fiscal 2021, the money was being borrowed “from the bank.”

Now that the country was in a better financial position, he said Cabinet approved a special purpose road-repair company in the Rural Development and Local Government and a board was appointed.

Soon, Rowley said, Finance Minister Colm Imbert would make money available to the company and contractors would be mobilised to fix the roads.

Roopnarine said, "There is no need to set up a special purpose company (to fix roads). You (Rowley) are fooling the people of TT."

He complained that the corporation has only been receiving an annual allocation of $4 million for development work for the last six years.

Roopnarine said this was insufficient to address infrastructural challenges in a region like Princes Town.

"We have over 30 landslips."

He appealed to Imbert to approve $30 million to the corporation to fix the landslips in its region.

Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation chairman Raymond Cozier agreed with Roopnarine. He said his corporation faces similar challenges to the ones the Princes Town is dealing with.

Cozier urged the Government to look at development holistically and not through a political lens.

UNC vice-chairman St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen said the consultations were the brainchild of Opposition Leader and UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

"The voice of the people has to be heard. This is a democracy."

Ameen said what is discussed will form part of Persad-Bissessar's response to the budget as well as the contributions of individual MPs and senators.

The House of Representatives will hold one more sitting, on September 9, the day the current parliamentary session will end.

Leader of Government Business in the House Camille Robinson-Regis said the purpose of the sitting is to tie up loose ends before the current parliamentary session ends and the start of the new one on September 12.

There will be a ceremonial opening of the new parliamentary session at the Red House on September 12. President Paula-Mae Weekes will address a joint sitting of the House and Senate on that day.

The Parliament's first priority early in the new session will be the 2022/2023 budget.

In July, Rowley hinted that Imbert could present the budget earlier than usual when the new parliamentary session begins.

For the last six years, Imbert has presented the budget in the first week in October. By law, it must be debated in both Houses before October 31, when the new financial year begins.