Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
San Fernando Mayor Robert Parris is denying a claim by St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen that the Mayor’s Fund is under investigation. During a United National Congress (UNC) media briefing yesterday, Ameen called for a probe of the San Fernando City Corporation (SFCC) for other financial irregularities following the news.
“The PNM is in charge now, and the PNM was in charge before. We raised questions about where San Fernando corporation was getting money just before the local government elections and in the lead up to the last general election to do a lot of road paving contracts while the other corporations were getting no money, and now the questions must be answered,” Ameen said.
Ameen said that as the San Fernando West MP, Faris Al-Rawi should pay attention to the SFCC, saying the UNC wanted to know where the money went.
However, Parris said Ameen could investigate as much as she wanted.
“Everything is above board in terms of expenditure at the San Fernando City Corporation, and we are following the correct practices by applying to the Ministry of Finance for releases for expenditure. She would be happy to know the funds were released earlier today, and the accountant is doing everything to ensure everything is above board,” Parris said.
As the UNC’s shadow minister for local government, Ameen also said escalating crime interrupted garbage collection, construction work, waterway cleaning and vector control as workers increased calls for security at work sites.
“More and more, we find workers requesting security, requesting municipal police or TTPS to accompany them to collect garbage, to do construction in communities. Our regional corporations have been working with those challenges. When a community has garbage collection interrupted, there is a pile-up of garbage, a public health hazard, and people can get sick.”
She said the government promised 100 additional municipal police officers for each regional corporation. She questioned where those officers were, saying it demonstrated the failure of Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds to reduce crime.
Chaguanas Mayor Faaiq Mohammed said allocating human resources was woeful at the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government (RDLG) as the Chaguanas Borough Corporation (CBC) shares a building inspector with the Tunapuna/ Piarco Regional Corporation. Mohammed said he was in the process of writing the RDLG to share an engineer, as the region is without one.
He said the CBC’s Principal Medical Officer of Health recently got a contract for only two months. He added that only seven municipal officers operate on an eight-hour shift, and three must be in the station.
Siparia Mayor Doodnath Mayrhoo lamented seeing the body of murder victim Leroy Sifontis and another man bleeding on the ground approximately 1 km from the Siparia Borough Corporation administrative building yesterday. Mayrhoo said Siparia was one of the safest places, but the country was now a criminal’s haven.
Sangre Grande Regional Corporation (SGRC) Chairman Kenwyn Phillip said the organisation owes three months of rent for its administration building. Phillip said the SGRC is on the verge of eviction because it is not receiving funds to pay rent. He said the corporation only received 40 per cent of its overall allocation, which is just enough for recurring expenditure.
Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Chairman Gowtam Maharaj said Penal/Quinam Morne residents are still clamouring for a by-election following the death of their councillor, Diptee Ramnath, last December. Maharaj questioned why residents do not yet have a new councillor.
Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation Chairman Raymond Cozier said the region was a destination in jeopardy, as the journey there is disgusting. He said it is a challenge getting to Mayaro, whether people use the Manzanilla/Mayaro Road, Naparima Mayaro Road or Cunapo Southern Main Road, as they have been in deplorable conditions for years.
Cozier said the MRCRC was in the eighth month of the financial year and had not received funding for materials and supplies for road repairs.
Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation Ryan Rampersad said the water supply was so poor in Tamana that one resident had to forfeit going to church to save money to purchase water. Rampersad said that some people living in La Horquetta/Talparo also suffer for water, although the constituency has one of the largest reservoirs.
Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Faris Al-Rawi did not answer Guardian Media’s calls.