Mark wants investigation in government scholarships

Opposition Senator Wade Mark wants an investigation into the award of scholarships by the culture ministry, calling it a national scandal.

In an interview with the Trinidad Express, Mark said: "This is something the Fraud Squad, the Commissioner of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions ought to investigate.

"We are talking about public funds, $46 million and there was no approval from the Parliament, only PNM supporters and friends knew about this. This tantamount to an abuse of office."

It was Mark who first raised the issue in the Senate but he didn't get information on the awards because the government said it had to respect the privacy rights of citizens who received the scholarships.

A private organization was able to get the information through the courts, using the Freedom of Information Act.

Mark spoke about the issue in the Senate Monday. "I am a parliamentarian. I raise issues and someone on the outside of this Parliament is able to get the information and I have to go to that person and beg them to give me a copy of that information," he said.

While the government stated that it gave the scholarships to the "young, poor and vulnerable" the evidence points to some people who didn't necessarily fit that definition.Among them are:

• Curtis Williams, an executive producer at the State-owned CNMG television station. He got more than $81,000 for medical studies at Howard University in Washington
• Jerome Lewis, who is pursuing a broadcast journalism degree in BostonOdeka O’Neil, who has worked as a news anchor on TV6 and CNC3
• Joel Primus, who has served as a temporary government senator on several occasionsGovernment
• Senator Laurel Lezama was got $143,000 to study for a Bachelors degree in law and politics in the United Kingdom
• Paige De Leon, who is the communications manager with the Office of the Prime Minister, received $173,640 to pay for a Masters degree in International Diplomacy in 2005
• Former temporary PNM Senator Rain Newel-Lewis, who served as a temporary senator in September 2003, received a total of approximately $200,000 in funding over the years 2003 to 2004 for a Masters in International Business Economics in the United Kingdom
• Kareem Allette, son of late PNM councillor Bert Allette, received a $63,000 grant for a degree in quantity surveying in Jamaica