Valley tells MPs to burn midnight oil

LEADER of Government Business in the House of Representatives, Trade Minister Ken Valley, yesterday advised parliamentarians to be ready to burn the midnight oil because Government intends to accelerate its legislative agenda in Parliament from now to July, 2005. Speaking during debate in Parliament on the Caribbean Community Bill 2004, Valley dismissed suggestions from Oropouche MP Dr Roodal Moonilal that yesterday’s sitting was due to some sort of confusion on the Government’s part. Valley said Government had 18 bills on the Order Paper and Parliament will be meeting three times a week (one Senate and two House sittings) in order to deal with these matters.

Two months ago, Attorney General John Jeremie broke with precedent and announced Government’s legislative agenda in Parliament. On the legislation at hand, the minister disclosed that formal trade talks will be held in 2005 between Caricom and the Mercosur nations of Latin America. Valley said preliminary talks with Mercosur two weeks ago were positive. He also revealed that progress was being made regarding the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Valley said TT already had several free trade agreements with several ACS nations and yet another has recently signalled its intent to establish trade ties with TT. He added that local manufacturers remained keen on development of trade ties closer to home. On Moonilal’s suggestion of trade ties with India and China, Valley said these nations were important to TT in terms of attracting inward investment.

He stressed the importance of Caricom having an economic hinterland in order to weather any international financial developments. On the Free Trade Area of the Americas Secretariat, Valley gave the assurance that TT remains on course to become the headquarters of that Secretariat, “as long as there is an FTAA.” Valley evoked rumblings in the Opposition benches when he said the former regime thought they had a piggy bank for personal use and were uncharitable to TT’s Caricom neighbours. Moonilal claimed that Government’s idea of foreign affairs was sending locals to other Caricom nations instead of keeping them at home to address problems here. He also wondered whether Government ever planned to make the Occupational Health and Safety Act law.