00:00Opposition Leader Penelope Beckles is weighing in on the proposal before the Cabinet for citizens aged 16 and older to
00:06have in their possession a valid form of ID in public spaces, which has been publicly confirmed by Homeland Security
00:14Minister Roger Alexander.
00:16During a media conference, the Opposition Leader responded to a question on that matter and the government's plan to increase
00:21the age limit for drinking alcohol from 18 to 21.
00:25My information is that there was a Cabinet note earlier this year, April to be exact, and I would prefer
00:35that this government comes clean and tells us if this is a proposal of theirs and if they intend to
00:44implement it.
00:46The fact is that there are too many proposals of this government that is left hanging.
00:53So I'm asking them, tell the public, what is your policy, what is your philosophy, what is the data that
01:00you're using?
01:01Earlier in the media conference, Opposition Leader Beckles referred to data on another matter regarding the economy.
01:08So the CSO has indicated to us that the economy, employment in the economy fell by some 5,900 in
01:17three months and specifically 569,900 persons in quarter four of 2025 to 5,000, 564,000 in quarter one
01:32of, well, first quarter of 2026.
01:35The Opposition Leader called on the government to say whether it stands by its position that job losses in the
01:41first quarter of 2026 reflect a seasonal trend.
01:45Female employment fell by 6,800 from 248,800 to 242,000, while female unemployment rose from 12,500 to
02:0318,000.
02:04The Opposition Leader maintained her party's position that the government's restructuring of state-funded programs like CPAP and URP has
02:12led to thousands of job losses, which are having a direct impact on small businesses in particular.
02:18You want people to believe that all these people whose businesses are closing down, they're involved in drugs, Kamala?
02:26Everybody involved in drugs?
02:28I mean, what it is?
02:29Where you live in?
02:31In your own constituency in Separia, you go and take a walk and see all the little parlor closing down,
02:37all of them involved in drugs?
02:39I mean, oh gosh, have a heart.
02:42Have a heart.
02:44Because the fact is that if you go into a lot of these villages, they move the license from $1
02:51,509,000.
02:54You're only taxing, taxing, taxing.
02:57Everything is a tax.
02:58On Thursday evening, Prime Minister Kamala Pesad-Besassa shared a video of her chairing a meeting of her cabinet with
03:04a statement that said she met with her ministers as they, quote,
03:08continue advancing policies and making decisions that improve the lives of all citizens, end quote.
03:16Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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