Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley was hopping mad in the House of Representatives as he made his contribution to the national budget. The former cabinet minister, who was fired by Prime Minister Patrick Manning after complaining of government expenditure, took aim at the proposed property tax of three per cent on the rentable value of residential properties.
He accused the government of picking the pockets of citizens to to pay for Government's squaundermania, which he tried in vain to prevent because Manning kicked him out for complaining.
"I tell you one thing, I am mad as hell about this...When I tried to prevent this I had my character called into question in this House and asked to account for money that was never missing. And that was done by the head of the Government, my Government," he said.
In last year's budget debate Rowley complained about excessive spending by UDeCOTT with a lack of proper accountability.
Manning responded by suggesting that Rowley should explain why $10 million was missing from the Cleaver Heights housing project, which was undertaken while Rowley was housing minister.
Related story: Official who cleared Rowley quits HDC
"We have to digest that in the context that the money done," Rowley said.
Noting that pensioners who own property in Diego Martin and Woodbrook and people who are struggling to survive will have to pay increased taxes, Rowley said: "We are now called upon to pay from our pockets for the fun and games that was had by others."
Rowley also outlined a number of million and billion- dollar mega projects which he said are exorbitantly over budget.
Citing budget documents he also pointed to State-owned Petrotrin where projects projects have increased from $3.3 billion to $9.3 billion. He charged that Government wasted about $100 million in the Legal Affairs Tower and Chancery Lane projects noting that a $368 million contract was given to a contractor even through another contractor bid $60 million less.
And he pointed out that the contractor who was rejected in the Legal Affairs Tower project was awarded the Chancery Lane project, where he bid $45 million more than others.
He said this project is now $181 million more than the original estimate of $477 million.
Rowley charged that the government misled the House when the prime minister said the performing arts centre project cost some US$60 million (TT$396M). He said documents submitted in the Uff enquiry, has cost $441 million with a projected completion of $468 million.
"I can tell you without fear of contradiction every statement about these projects being within budget and within time, every one is a wrong statement," he declared.
Rowley urged the Government to review its priorities and put people first.
"It is my view because of the general circumstances, international and local, 2010 will be a difficult year for the people of Trinidad and Tobago...we are in difficult times but before you can agree to take medicine you have to agree that you are sick and if you keep saying that I am not sick then you won't take the medicine that is required," Rowley concluded.
1 comment:
Rowley should fight Manning and his crew hard! If his own Prime Minister accused him of stealing money in response to a question about financial accountability, it shows paranoia and contempt. (Unless he stole 10 million dollars, which I gather from the article that he was cleared of). But he's damned right to be mad that pensioners and the people en mass have to shell out money so the government can built unnecessary hotels for foreign dignitaries, buy excessive foreign property and otherwise squander/mismanage public funds they have been trusted to safeguard.
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