Imbert: Fix police vehicles, don't buy new

DAYS after promising to supply the police with 2,000 new vehicles over the next three years in his budget speech, Finance Minister Colm Imbert urged public bodies first to seek to repair their old vehicles before asking him for funding for fresh purchases.

He was speaking on October 16 during the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives.

Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram had just asked about the non-provision of any new vehicles under the heading of "animal production and health," when nothing was spent last year, despite an initial estimate/allocation of $575,000 under recurrent expenditure.

Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein blamed the non-spend on issues arising under the procurement process, but promised to ask Imbert for more funding. Ratiram pressed him on this.

But Imbert stepped in to say his ministry had asked all ministries to make their best effort to repair and rehabilitate existing vehicles they now own, rather than to buy new ones.

He said for many heads of expenditure across various public bodies, the budget made no allocation for new vehicles.

Ratiram contrasted the comments of Hosein and Imbert.

Imbert replied, "I made myself crystal clear."

Citing a graveyard of thousands of old vehicles at the Tamana Intech Park, he said,"We insist ministries look within their existing fleet." He said that call would also apply to Hosein.

Ratiram said the vehicle graveyard had built up over nine years and he wished Imbert could have been enlightened on repairing vehicles earlier in his ministerial term.

Imbert later commented on requests to buy new vehicles, saying, "We will not approve that request if we are not satisfied the vehicle cannot be rehabilitated."

Ratiram later asked if the Forestry Division has sufficient vehicles.

Hosein replied, "We have a pool of vehicles."

Ratiram said forestry officers had told him personally they face a lack of vehicles.

Saying the budget gave no allocation to buy vehicles for the forestry division in fiscal 2025, he asked Hosein, "Look into it."