Mark: ‘PM is a modern monster’

“A modern Fran-kenstein.” That is how UNC MP Wade Mark labelled Prime Minister Patrick Manning, as he slammed the PM’s “threat” to amend the Treason Act as well as Government’s proposal to fingerprint everyone.

Speaking in the Budget debate in the Senate yesterday, Mark attacked Legal Affairs Minister, Camille Robinson-Regis whom he described as “the new Attorney General” for “threatening” to fingerprint every citizen, saying it was part of the dictatorial and fascist tendencies of the Prime Minister. “Today he targets the Opposition, tomorrow it may be the Independent Senators, next day, it may be members of the media in the public gallery,” Mark stated, adding: “Where and when is this madness going to stop? What is emerging …is a modern Frankenstein, which we would do well to collectively exorcise if we are to truly save Trinidad and Tobago.” Chastising the Prime Minister for his “wild and reckless” statements about the UTC/FCB merger, Mark called on Central Bank Governor Ewart Williams to either resign or tell the nation that “Mr Manning has set him up.”

The UNC MP stated that following the “shameless and disgraceful dismissal” of Hubert Alleyne, Manning sought to draw the Central Bank Governor into the fray. Mark’s contribution was sprinkled with references to reports of imminent dismissal of Attorney General Glenda Morean, which caused much amusement. “Madam Pre-sident, we anticipate her contribution to this debate could well constitute her last in this honourable Cham-ber….I appeal to my colleagues to listen with rapt attention and silence to her contribution in order to hasten her passing and final rights,” he said. This led the AG to comment: “Like yuh want to kill me boy!” “Not me, your Prime Minister,” Mark re-joined. Describing the Budget as an “Orwellian nightmare” for working people, Mark also drew chuckles as he cited specific cost increases at the grocery and parlours.

On the issue of crime, Mark said the Government didn’t have a clue. Citing the figures according to ethnic background of persons kidnapped for the year, Mark lamented that “not even the Chinese” were safe under the stewardship of Howard Chin Lee as National Security Minister. (Of the persons kidnapped, 24 were East Indians, 9 Africans, 3 Chinese and 5 were mixed, he said). The UNC MP advised that the Prime Minister send Chin Lee to the Ministry of Tourism as a junior minister.  Pointing out that Trinidad and Tobago ranked second to Colombia and was just ahead of Venezuela and Mexico, in the world ranking on kidnapping, Mark said when he first saw names of the countries involved, he thought it was a Miss Universe pageant “because these are the countries that win (the pageant).”

Mark described as “a hit squad” PM Manning’s proposal to establish a specialised crime fleet, comparing it to Eric Gairy’s “mongoose gang,” Forbes Burnham’s “House of Israel” and Papa Doc’s “Ton Ton Macoute.” He said the think-tanks and crime committees established by the Government were not there to assist in fighting crime, but to lay blame at the feet of an unsuspecting population. Noting that the country’s ranking on the corruption index also fell, Mark said this should surprise no one “least of all the Attorney General who seems to be saying everything and anything to hasten her imminent departure to the court of St James. “While the Attorney General is contemplating her imminent departure, she may want to advise her successor, the Member of Parliament for Arouca South, to investigate” certain acts of PNM corruption and malfeasance, he said.

Mark called for an investigation into whether a US $3 million facilitating fee was paid by a Hong Kong company called Hoover Lane “to a former PNM Energy Minister, who is also an energy consultant with the Government.” “This alleged fee was paid to the former Energy Minister to make sure that Hoover Lane got exclusive distributorship of refined asphalt for Mainland China,” he stated. Mark also named as “suspicious contracts” those issued to Trinre, which he said was owned by Ambassador Pleni-potency Jerry Narace and contracts to Kenejay, owned by Professor Ken Julien. He added that Trans-parency International had written to the parent body stating that the terms of reference of Bob Linquist’s investigations into the WASA/ Waterfarms contract were too limited. Mark said he wanted to ask Government to explain how the Desal contract was sending WASA to bankruptcy. “We understand that WASA buys water for $4.46 from Desalcott. It sells this water for $7.50 per cubic metre to the industrial owners. Yet we are being told that the contract is causing WASA to go bankrupt,” he said. As he slammed the increase in gas prices, Mark said the PNM Government had a “fetish” about gas hikes and had implemented increases in virtually every Budget.