Local Government Minister Chandresh Sharma is angry about the apparent waste of taxpayers money by the previous government.In an interview with the Trinidad Express Sharma said the Manning administration spent unnecessary money on special purpose companies while starving regional corporations for resources.
He said the records "are disturbing and worrisome," adding that it is frighteneing that a government allowed "this to happen, actually they were making it happen."
Sharma told the paper he is particularly bothered by the manner is which funds were wasted on a variety of projects.
"When you look at the delivery of any project which Local Government does, they deliver it for a fraction of the cost than the multi-purpose companies are doing and they are giving unlimited amount of money with no checks and balances," he said.
He spoke of one example where the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation maintains 100 playgrounds with $1 million per year. By comparison, he said, the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago spent $2.8 million on just one playground in the Couva area.
Sharma said the Manning government's expenditure of millions on reforms for the local government system was merely an excuse to postpone local elections and an opportunity to continue to deny people their basic needs.
"Local Government elections are due every three years and we’ve wasted billions of dollars and there was no legislation.
"So this foolishness about new legislation and reform...(doesn't provide) goods and services, people not getting pipe-borne water, their garbage is not being picked up, the cemeteries are not being maintained, there’s no maintenance of roads and drains. Reform has nothing to do about that," Sharma said.
He said the reform is no longer important. The focus, he explained, is on the upcoming election and providing the people with goods and services.
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