Monday, June 25, 2012

Jamal hopes to keep citizens informed about government activity

Minister of Communication Jamal Mohammed said on Sunday one of his core responsibilities will be informing the public of how the government is spending billions of taxpayers' money. 

Mohammed is one of then new faces in the reconfigured cabinet that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar unveiled on Friday. Mohammed is a member of the iconic Mohammed clan that includes his late father, Sham Mohammed, and his uncle Kamaluddin Mohammed.

The Express said it spoke with Mohammed Sunday who pointed out that in the past two years the government has spend about $100 billion.

"It is important that the people, who are the taxpayers, who are the owners of that money — they have a right to know how it is being spent, what is being done and where the Government is going,'' he told the paper.

"They have to make informed choices about how the Government is using the resources and how it is being used to the benefit of their lives. My duty as Minister of Communication would be to communicate that to the people — so they would understand how this Government is working on their behalf," Mohammed added.

Mohammed said he also intends to ensure that everyone — be it Government Minister, Ministry official and public officials are on the same page.

"I want to make sure everybody is on the same page and we singing from the same book and we saying the same things and not contradicting each other," he said.

Mohammed told the paper he was "very surprised and honoured" when the Prime Minister asked him to become Communication Minister. He said his ministry bis important because it has to tell citizens "the Government has done and (what) they have in the pipelines."

Mohammed's sister is a top ranking member of the opposition People's National Movement (PNM) and is currently chairperson of the Barataria/San Juan Regional Corporation.

The Express said it asked Nafessa Mohammed for a comment on her brother's new job. She said: "He is my brother who I love dearly and I wish him the very best in his new portfolio and I know him to be a person of impeccable character and integrity and you can only hope that some of it would rub off in the conduct of the affairs of the Government."

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Jai & Sero

Jai & Sero

Our family at home in Toronto 2008

Our family at home in Toronto 2008
Amit, Heather, Fuzz, Aj, Jiv, Shiva, Rampa, Sero, Jai