00:00The opposition leader's response to one cabinet member's criticism of her, as she pointed out during a media conference on Monday,
00:17that detainees during the state of emergency are being kept at two military bases in Trinidad.
00:23Where's the prime minister in all of this? Because if it is that you are having financial difficulties, then I think the country needs to know.
00:31It was Legal Affairs Minister Saddam Hussein who announced the decision to cancel the 2025 Independence Day parade on fireworks display on the advice of state security experts.
00:42So at this time, the government has taken a very difficult decision to not disrupt these successes with respect to what we have made so far in the state of emergency.
00:55However, Minister Hussein responded to a question from the media about the cost of the state-sponsored Independence events.
01:01At this time, we as a government, we took the decision that we will use the savings from these particular functions and events for fight against crime.
01:11Those figures will amount to millions.
01:15The minister referred to the national deficit of over $9 billion, which the UNC-led government has blamed on the former PNM administration.
01:23Opposition MP and former Finance Minister Colm Imbert referred to the new government.
01:28They knew they had the money to pay for independence.
01:31And I want to make the point.
01:32A military parade is standard in many countries in the world to celebrate your escape from colonialism.
01:42It's an important thing.
01:44And therefore, the whole issue of money, that has to be secondary.
01:49MP Imbert also referred to the media review of the present budget for fiscal 2025.
01:54Of course, if you don't have the money, you have a problem.
01:57But I did not see any issue and I did not hear any of the ministers say that they did not have the money to pay the $1.5 million for the independence parade.
02:09And if you add up how much they spent on the Modi trip and how much they spent on the ceremonial opening of parliament,
02:15the two combined cost more than the independence parade.
02:19So it's a question of priorities.
02:21The opposition leader also questioned the government's priorities.
02:25Because if it is that you are having financial difficulties, then I think the country needs to know.
02:31Because if you recall that during the mid-term review, they were saying that we were going to crash the economy.
02:37If you recall all of this, but they came for the buyment, even as it relates to CPAP.
02:40They asked for an additional, was it $60 million for CPAP?
02:45And then everybody went.
02:48And so what happened to that $60 million if there is no CPAP since you had the mid-term review?
02:54The government has called on the nation to hold a National Day of Prayer on Independence Day.
02:59The opposition leader said she is waiting on further details about this from the government.
03:04Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
03:06The government mentioned $50 million.
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