00:00With the terms of Office of Counselors and Aldermen being extended to four years,
00:05local government elections are not due until 2027.
00:09Local government minister Khadija Amin is perplexed as to why the topic is consuming the opposition camp.
00:15The local government elections are not due yet.
00:18The PNM has nothing to do and for that reason they're up and down calling for local government elections.
00:24The UNC has always supported democracy and called elections when they are due.
00:30The local government election is not yet due and I expect that the prime minister will call the date based
00:38on her wisdom and her respect for the laws.
00:40Back in November, the UNC government constituted a committee for the review of municipal boundaries.
00:47The opposition has accused the government of trying to steal the elections by manipulating municipal boundaries ahead of the election.
00:55The committee that was appointed by cabinet to review the municipal boundaries is working.
01:02They have had a number of consultations with business chambers, local government representatives,
01:08technical officers within regional corporations, mayors and chairmen, as well as other entities such as where they have been drawing
01:19data from in terms of settlement data, population data,
01:23and that will guide their recommendations to cabinet.
01:26It is my understanding that they do have a draft report ready.
01:30However, the PNM corporations have written to the committee indicating that their political leadership has directed them to submit written
01:40submissions and they missed the deadline.
01:43In fact, they missed two deadlines and they have asked for a third extension, which the committee has graciously agreed
01:50to.
01:51Minister Min is urging the opposition to cooperate with the process, which she maintains will redound to the benefit of
01:58the country as a whole.
01:59And I think if the PNM is really serious about contributing to this exercise,
02:04they will submit meaningful contributions towards the committee in a timely manner.
02:10There are many PNM corporations that are asking for corporations to be split because of the population, because of the
02:17geography,
02:18and they want boroughs formed, they want separate regions.
02:23So the PNM corporations also form part of Trinidad and therefore the recommendations from those regions, whether it is from
02:33the PNM or we welcome also minorities to put in,
02:38they can submit their recommendations, but they must do so in a timely manner.
02:43So given that the committee has agreed to accept their late recommendations,
02:50we will of course continue to take those things into consideration as the committee works.
02:55I am looking forward to the committee's report.
02:58Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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