Young: Government ready for procurement debate

THE Government is fully prepared for Wednesday's extraordinary sitting of the House of Representatives to debate the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2023, says Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young.

He was speaking to the media after the opening of Trinidad Generation Unlimited's new office in Chaguanas on Tuesday.

Young said Government will not be distracted by the "antics" of the Opposition UNC when it comes to passing this bill in the House.

At a public meeting in Princes Town on Monday night, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the UNC will not support the bill. She tore up a copy of the bill in front of party supporters to emphasise this point.

At a news conference at her Siparia constituency office in Penal on July 14, Persad-Bissessar claimed Government was acting illegally in summoning Parliament from its annual fixed recess.

That recess runs from the first week in July to the first week in September.

She also claimed Government would attempt to further water down the Procurement Act through its proposed amendments.

Persad-Bissessar questioned whether the amendments would grant any entity an amnesty from complying with the act.