Ameen hits PNM on migrant children, local government reform

UNC vice-chairman Khadijah Ameen claimed that Government will not have measures in place to allow Venezuelan migrant children to attend primary school when the new term opens in September.

Ameen, who is also St Augustine MP, also reiterated the UNC's claims that the PNM will not implement local government reform now that the August 14 local government election is over.

She made these statements at a news conference at the Opposition Leader's Office in Port of Spain on Sunday.

"The situation with the migrants is something that the UNC and our Opposition Leader (Kamla Persad-Bissessar) has been calling our government to address."

On the latter, Ameen said Persad-Bissessar has been focusing on education needs for Venezuelan migrant children in TT.

"We are concerned that while we hear of a programme for migrant children (to attend school) we are concerned about the Government's ability to implement that."

Ameen reiterated the UNC's claims that Government has failed in every aspect of education. She also reiterated problems with school repairs, transportation and the school feeding programme as examples of the UNC's allegations of the PNM's track record in education.

"We are concerned that they are dealing with only a small margin (of Venezuelan migrant children) and that the real problem of thousands of migrants and migrant children will not be addressed."

Ameen claimed this situation will not be properly addressed if the Prime Minister "does not acknowledge this humanitarian crisis in Venezuela."

At a breakfast meeting hosted by United States Ambassador Candace Bond at the Hilton Trinidad on July 13, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne said Government is looking at including migrant children in the local primary school system.

He added that no decision has been made as to how and when this would happen.

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly subsequently confirmed this.

In a WhatsApp message to Newsday, she said, "This is currently being discussed between the Ministry of Education and the Catholic Education School Board."

Browne met with the education working group in April to discuss the issue.

The group's stakeholders include: the Catholic Education Board of Management; Living Water Community: Education Ministry: the Pan American Development Foundation; the UN Children’s Fund; and the UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR).

Meanwhile, Ameen did not believe Dr Rowley's statement that local government reform would be rolled out.

She reiterated the UNC's claims that Government will continue "squeezing resources from corporations."

Ameen claimed this was to justify the need for corporations to collect residential property taxes to earn revenue.

She reiterated the UNC's call for an early general election after saying the UNC was poised to win that election because of the votes it received in the August 14 local government election.

The UNC received 173,961 votes while the PNM got 130,868.

In a tweet, PNM deputy political leader Colm Imbert said this meant little in determining who would win a general election.

"In the 2019 local government election, the UNC got 54 per cent of the vote. In 2020, the PNM won the general election with 49 per cent of the vote. The UNC got 47 per cent.

In a letter to the editor, former UNC MP Harry Partap said the PNM was the real winner in this month's local government elections. Partap said none of the strategies used by the UNC or other political parties against the PNM in the elections dented the ruling party's political armour.

"They (UNC) did not support local government reform and vowed to rescind it whenever they were voted into office.

Partap said the UNC forgot that they left the economy in a low point in September 2015 when the PNM returned to office.

"Dr Rowley and his ministers renegotiated oil and gas contracts with the oil companies which boosted the exchequer."

Partap said this provided Government with additional financial resources to deal with the covid19 pandemic.

After steering TT to a safe place, he continued, Government had to deal with unusual rain and unprecedented flooding which took a toll on fragile infrastructure.

Partap said this was not lost on PNM supporters.

"Clearly, the PNM faithful understood the problem. They circled the wagons and defended their party and leader."