MP for St Augustine, Ms. Khadijah Ameen in her budget contribution indicated that the Ministry of Rural Development needs to be renamed the Ministry of “Rural Neglect”, because they have constantly failed and neglected rural districts. Details follow in this press elease.
MP for St Augustine, Ms. Khadijah Ameen passionately highlighted the importance of Local Government on the development of the Nation as a whole and also its importance of improving the quality of lives of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago in her budget contribution. She indicated that the current Ministry of Rural Development needs to be renamed the Ministry of “Rural Neglect”, because they have constantly failed and neglected rural districts.
She stated that there has been a disparity in funding for Local Government, where some corporations clearly receive more funding per Burgess than others. For example, Port of Spain receives $6000 per burgess per year while Tunapuna, Princess Town, Penal/Debe and Couva receive approximately, $700 per burgess per year. She also indicated that since the PNM came into government in 2015 there has been constant erosion in funding for Regional Corporations. For example, Chaguanas Borough Corporation received a 40 million dollar decrease in funding from 2015-2022, this is a 25% reduction. In addition to this routine depletion of funds, she claims, the Minister of Rural Development is asking for a further 4% cut in funding.
The UNC’s Shadow Local Government Minister called on the government to implement policies to promote the development of Local Government and stop stifling the funds for Regional Corporations. She also asked that the government provide better resources to the Municipal Corporations so that some fourteen councilors will not have to fight for the use of one backhoe. Ms. Ameen lamented that it does not take new legislation to have proper treatment of the local government fraternity but it simply takes political will.
In conclusion, Ms. Ameen indicated that the current government has blatantly abandoned Local Government. She claimed that the current PNM government has failed to understand the importance of local government in the national developmental plan of the country. Lastly, she said Local Government must be given the respect it deserves.