Yvonne Webb
Just Now
THE decision by the UNC to abstain from the passage of the 2021 budget in the Parliament last Friday was a principled decision says Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
In the House of Representatives last Thursday, 22 government members voted for the Appropriation (Financial Year 2021) Bill 2020 but the 19 Opposition members abstained.
Persad-Bissessar said her members could not vote “yea” or “nay.”
Had they voted no, she said they may have been accused of voting against public servants getting paid since the estimates of expenditure relate to paying health care workers, corporation workers and CEPEP workers.
“If we had voted yes, we would have been voting for some unprincipled policies situation, decision and expenditures that we just could not, in all honesty, in good faith and good heart, we could not have said yes to.
“We could not have said yes to the property tax. We would not say yes to it. We could not have said yes to selling out all the National Petroleum stations to concessionaires.”
During her party’s virtual report on Monday night, Persad-Bissessar told her audience a concessionaire is not the owner or licensee of the station, but one who rents a space in the gas station to sell things.
She said one such concessionaire called “Kamla’s favourite chicken” is in almost every NP station.
“Take it away from ordinary suffering people of TT. Its back to family, friends and financiers.”
“We could not have voted for that. We could not have voted for how they intend to give away the port of Port of Spain. There were so many things in that budget we could not, in good conscience, vote for so we took what we felt was a principled stand and we abstained with our vote.
“We could not vote for a budget that seeks to take away so much from hungry poor people and give friends and family and financiers.
She said they could not vote for a budget in which cabinet ministers had to recuse themselves 37 and 57 times from cabinet meetings because of conflict of interest.
“We could not vote for the budget which cut the GATE funding by $35 million because you have to pay $20 million to outfit a building owned by AG Faris Al-Rawi’s family and pay $23 million for the rent.
“That is $43 million, so we will cut, cut GATE and give it to your family, friends and financiers.”
She said the UNC could not vote for a budget which moved monies that could have given laptops to children who are now begging for devices.
“Elections have consequences so those who voted for that deal with it now. “
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