Sport Minister: Sacrifice now for future generations

Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe says she understands some of the government's decisions may not be the most popular among the public, but it was necessary to sacrifice for future generations.

Speaking at the opening of the Tacarigua Community Centre, Bally Trace, on Wednesday afternoon, Cudjoe said financial resources have become more scarce, so the government has tried to provide for communities through facilities and programmes.

Pointing out that most people wanted a better standard of living, Cudjoe asked how many were prepared to sacrifice for these goals.

She referred to her own upbringing in a large family and the difficult decisions that had to be made.

She said such sacrifices were necessary for the country to remain stable, and called on the public to think beyond themselves.

"There are people among us right now who don't have a proper savings for themselves, far less have a proper savings for their children to go to university.

"We as a government have to take that into consideration and make the necessary changes and do the necessary changes we have to do now to allow a better future for the children who are coming up.

"We sit here healthy and strong, looking good, well-fed, because someone else had to sacrifice then so we can have now.

"Why is it so hard for us now to sacrifice for the young children who are coming up?"

Cudjoe said while financial resources may be scarce, the government was still willing to accommodate groups seeking assistance in starting community-based activities.

Minister of Public Utilities and Lopinot/Bon Air MP Marvin Gonzales agreed that cutbacks were necessary to avoid financial ruin, and urged the public to think of the decisions that must be made to bring stability to their homes.

Gonzales said while he knew most people were not pleased with the government's decision on capping the gas subsidy at $1 billion, it was important to ensure other programmes and projects were adequately funded.

"When we walk the streets, so many of our people say, 'What is the government doing for us?'

"We want to build more schools, we want to build more community centres, we want to construct more roads, we want to construct more drains – we want to improve people's lives in all their communities.

"Is it better, then, to spend billions of dollars on a gas subsidy, or perhaps for that subsidy to be reduced so at least we can have $1 billion more at our disposal to construct more community centres, as we have done here in Tacarigua?"