00:00On Wednesday, the High Court examined a lawsuit filed by Eastman Enterprises Ltd. against CPEP
00:07and referred fraud allegations surrounding the contract extensions to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
00:15In response, former Line Minister Faris al-Rawi said the attorneys representing Eastman will determine the next steps regarding legal action.
00:24Speaking on the TV6 Morning Edition, political analyst Dr. Mukesh Bazdeu said,
00:30the matter has now shifted from a civil issue to a criminal one, and the onus is now on the former minister to respond.
00:37With all of these persons and even persons within Cabinet Secretariat providing information,
00:42that there seems to be no evidence or trail of evidence that Cabinet approval is being granted for an extension.
00:50So the onus will be on the former minister now to say whether or not that is the case.
00:58Dr. Bazdeu says, politics aside, the central issue for the man on the ground is employment, or the lack thereof,
01:07particularly as it relates to the CPEP program.
01:10Today's Express, where the Prime Minister herself say that these programs will be tinkered, adjusted, but it will continue.
01:20Yes.
01:20So this is where I think persons are waiting the time frame.
01:24What is the time frame for the restart of the program?
01:27As it relates to government's first 100 days in office, Dr. Bazdeu says,
01:33it's primarily a North American concept to assess what has been achieved.
01:38He believes that crime is one of the areas the government has put major focus.
01:43However, he tells us, the 2026-2027 fiscal package in late September or early October
01:51will really be sufficient time to properly assess the government's policy implementation.
01:56Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
Comments