Manning, Bush, pirates in Senate

THE OPPOSITION UNC will ask for details of talks held last year in Washington DC between Prime Minister Patrick Manning, US President George W Bush and US National Security Adviser Dr Condoleeza Rice when the Senate sits tomorrow at 1.30 pm. Senate Opposition Leader Wade Mark will ask the Prime Minister to say whether his December 2003 talks with Bush and Rice dealt with American opposition to the International Criminal Court and TT’s existing economic relations with Cuba and Venezuela.

Mark will also ask the Prime Minister to state this country’s stance on the Commonwealth Heads of Governments’ decision to exclude Zimbabwe from the organisation and then ask Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift to outline the steps being taken by Government to “curtail the recent resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Paria and other territorial waters of TT” Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis will ask the Senate to approve the Agricultural Census Order 2004 and debate will continue on legislation to amend the TT Postal Corporation Act No 1 of 1999 “to extend the period of exemption from taxes and other charges”.

The House of Representatives will next sit on Friday March 26, at which time the Accreditation Council of TT 2004 Bill and the Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2004 will be debated. In introducing the former Bill in the Lower House on Friday, Science, Technology and Tertiary Education Minister Colm Imbert announced Government’s intentions to a $130 million Multi-Sector Skills Training Programme (MUST) which will begin in April and initially train 5,000 persons per six month cycle. Imbert said MUST will initially target the construction sector, where an anticipated 10,000 new job opportunities are to become available in 2004, and will “swiftly” be expanded to other sectors.