An opposition MP told the House of Representative Friday if the Trinidad and Tobago government cuts of corruption in the majority of state projects it would have enough money to subsidize food to ease the crisis facing citizens.
Dr Hamza Rafeeq was speaking in a debate on food prices. Rafeeq's attack on Prime Minister Patrick Manning's refusal to subsidize food because it would encourage corruption drew a swift reaction from Manning.
He asked what breakthroughs, if any, were made in the agriculture sector as it related to incentives during their term of office.
But Rafeeq kept his focus. "This prime minister presides over a Government where there are so many allegations of corruption and so many projects and yet he cannot subsidize food because he is afraid of corruption?”
The Caroni central MP had more. Referring to fired Cabinet minister Keith Rowley, he said, "We have a minister who has been fired because he asked the PM to deal with corruption.”
Rafeeq also alleged corruption in a number of Government initiatives including the construction of the Scarborough Hospital and the Waterfront project, among others. "UDeCOTT has been at the centre of most of these projects and Calder Hart of course, is the centre of UDeCOTT,” he said.
Rafeeq said the UDeCOTT chairman "is one person who has more power than a minister of Government and no one person in the country should be given that amount of power."
He returned to the subsidy matter saying he cannot under stand why "the PM and his Government cannot put a system in place to subsidise food for poor people and put the necessary checks and balances so that you do not have corruption.”
Referring to a presentation made by Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira about the issue of the global food crisis, Rafeeq said she had “retreated” behind the comfort zone that the issue of food was an international phenomenon.
Although acknowledging that the issue was being faced by all the nations of the world, Rafeeq was confident that T&T could “chart our own course.”
Commenting on Manning's intervention one UNC-A source said it demonstrates the weakness of the government. "If after more than six years in office the only thing you can say about developing agriculture is 'what did you do?' then it is a clear admission of failure," the source said.
The Manning government has been making all kinds of promises on developing agriculture but has delivered very little. Agriculture has declined while billions of dollars have been spent on construction projects that are mired in allegations of massive waste and corruption.
Government's failure in agriculture was apparent on Thursday when Agriculture Minister Arnold Piggott ducked reporters questions on real achievements in the sector. And despite Manning's categorical statement earlier in the week that 7,000 small farms have been created and are producing food on former Caroni lands, there is no evidence of this.
Read related story: PM admits food crisis, says 7,000 farms producing food
In a strongly worded editorial Saturday the Trinidad Guardian has suggested that the government shut up about plans for developing agriculture "until there is something substantial to say about what has been achieved."
The paper said, "The reality, is that notwithstanding the food consultation prior to the general elections last year, the Government did not give agriculture the priority it deserved, or say priority received by the construction of administrative complexes and car parks."
Read the editorial: Stay silent until there is something to report
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