00:00The mayor tells us the fired CPEP workers will soon be deployed to communities across Port of Spain.
00:07A move, he believes, will bring relief and restore dignity to those left jobless and forgotten.
00:13So this is actually the fourth weekend. We launched this program about three weekends ago.
00:19And as I said, we're focusing on our green spaces.
00:23So we've been in Adam Smith Square, we've been in Victoria Square, Lord Harris Square.
00:29Today, we're continuing the work in La Perru Cemetery. We'll begin work tomorrow in Mokarapo Cemetery.
00:37And we're continuing. As soon as we finish with those green spaces, we'll be pushing out into the communities
00:42so that the public can expect to see our teams out in St. James, in Belmont, in Gonzales,
00:49pushing through the communities, really filling the gap that has been created by the closure of the CPEP program.
00:55He says they're awaiting the presentation of the fiscal package to determine just how far into the future the program can be sustained.
01:04So that we were able to create some space in our budget coming down to the end of the last financial year.
01:10Our new financial year has just begun on October 1st.
01:14So that there is some space that we have.
01:16We'll be able to do just weekends only at this point.
01:20When the budget is read on Monday, we'll decide if we can expand it or if we have to contract it.
01:25We don't know as yet.
01:26But when we receive the budget on Monday, we'll be able to make some spending decisions.
01:31One former CPEP worker, Louis Jacks, speaking with TV6, says the opportunity to earn an income, once again, is deeply appreciated.
01:42Well, as I say, you know, a little bread is better than none still.
01:44And for the whole situation, I thought they could have been handled a little differently.
01:51At least they could have given us until the end of the year.
01:53You know, and people prepare us because we have a lot of single parents, as you know, especially females within CPEP.
02:02And CPEP to me was a program that was actually working.
02:05Why get rid of something that works?
02:08You understand?
02:09Look at the condition of the city.
02:12Right?
02:12It's not a mess.
02:13It's, you understand, just because there were humans that were not employed.
02:18Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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