Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar did not chair yesterday's Cabinet meeting as she was unwell, well-placed sources said yesterday. Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed, who chaired yesterday's post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's said the meeting was chaired by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran. And at the news conference, Works and Infrastructure Minister Emmanuel George said the Government was looking for an additional $45 million to assist residents of Diego Martin and other flood-affected districts in west Trinidad. He said he was fearful of disaster if another similar "weather situation" were to take place soon. He said during the "weather event, one of the hills came down in the form of mud, slush, boulders and other debris and clogged most of the water areas in the communities concerned." George said the drains still have to be cleaned "and if we have a similar event, we are in for another serious destruction of infrastructure as well as people's lives." He said the Government had already spent almost $50 million to provide relief to the people those districts. He said Finance Minister Larry Howai is seeking to allocated the funding in the 2012/13 national budget, which is expected later this month. He also said Cabinet yesterday agreed to implement several road safety initiatives in the interest of the motoring public of T&T.
These include:
• Provision of back-up power at 50 of the signalised intersections of T&T at a cost of $4 million;
• installation of zebra crossings and other street fixtures at 80 sites at a cost of $1.6 million;
• installation of New Jersey-type barrier systems on the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway between Macoya and O'Meara, and the San Fernando bypass at an estimated cost of $21 million; and
• instalation of cable barriers along the Uriah Butler and Solomon Hochoy highways at an estimated cost of $18 million.
