Skip to playerSkip to main content
CCNTV6
  • 1 year ago
Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi says corruption has been uncovered at one Opposition-controlled corporation and St Augustine MP Khadija Ameen says secretaries for councilors are being paid below the minimum wage.
Transcript
00:00Local Government and Rural Development Minister Fares Alrawi during his
00:05contribution to the budget debate says digitization led his ministry to
00:09uncover significant corruption at one regional corporation. I've discovered a
00:14significant amount of fraud and in discovering a significant amount of
00:19fraud in one particular in one corporation in particular which is not
00:25controlled by a government entity I can tell you Madam Speaker once you are able
00:30to track personnel with expenditure and approval bearing in mind everything is
00:39now done under the public procurement law then you are able to tighten up
00:43waste mismanagement and leakage through corruption or inefficiencies. Alrawi
00:50did not want to reveal too many details due to laws prohibiting the tipping off
00:55of criminals although he said police intervention has already been sought. The
01:00local government app he says has also led to directing attention to where it's
01:05most needed. We saw over 500 reports from persons who are in impoverished
01:12positions asking for latrine eradication. Let me drive it down to the
01:17ministry's work. By an online platform we were able to see that there is still a
01:23prevalence of of latrine eradication needs and Madam Speaker it means that we
01:29were able to double up the money for latrine eradication and apply it
01:34into this year's so that we can bring people into decency Madam Speaker. The
01:38San Fernando West MP also has this piece of advice for citizens. This concept of
01:45ax the tax Madam Speaker I would like to tell the members of the population
01:50through you most respectfully just ignore them. Desperate people will hold
01:56on to anything as a flotation device even if they have to drone you while
02:02they are doing it Madam Speaker. There is nothing wrong with paying fair share of
02:07taxation. Responding to his contribution MP Khadijah Amin says if government did
02:12what it was supposed to do the population would not be forced to pay
02:17through their noses for property taxes. The Minister of Finance promised
02:22legislation for transfer pricing in every one of his last nine budgets
02:28everyone including this one and while this country is having serious issues
02:35with money because of transfer pricing issues we are now facing issues with the
02:41energy companies because of this government's failure to bring transfer
02:46pricing legislation. She made a plea for local government councillors to access
02:51tax exemptions for vehicles and also loans. Local government councillors
02:57currently get a traveling allowance of eighteen hundred and sixty dollars for
03:01the entire month. This government has sent up the price of fuel once twice
03:07three times and we are right yet but these traveling allowance just given the
03:14cost of fuel now should also be increased for local government
03:18representatives. The secretaries of councillors Amin claims are being paid
03:23below minimum wage. And they could be put under the regional corporations and
03:29paid similar to what a clerk in regional corporation is paid so it is something
03:34very simple and I am so disappointed in the member for San Fernando West that we
03:39have come here months later and council secretaries being employed are getting
03:46less than minimum wage in this country and in the meanwhile they have come so
03:51right now CPAP workers are getting more money than and URP workers more money
03:56than councillors secretaries.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment