Narine accuses sugar union of fraud

Stating that land grabbers would stop at nothing, Agriculture Minister Jarrette Narine yesterday accused the All Trinidad Sugar and General Sugar Workers Trade Union (ATSGWTU) of fraudulently changing a letter sent by the company to an applicant for Caroni lands, to say he had been given permission to occupy lands. The company had not given any such consent. Narine was speaking in the House of Representatives on the Caroni Vesting Bill. The matter involved an application from Haskett Wilson for a plot of land at Wyaby Road, Carapichaima. In its letter, the company stated that the Vesting Act was not passed and therefore it had not yet taken a decision to dispose of the land. “As such, all requests have been put on hold.”

However, Narine stated, as he pointed an accusing finger at the ATSGWTU, that letter, which was done on the Caroni (1975) Ltd letterhead, was amended and an additional sentence was attached which read, “However noting that the above mentioned name has been given permission to utilise the premises.” Narine said on the basis of this amended letter, the ATSGWTU had proceeded to write the company on Wilson’s behalf complaining that “although permission was given to Mr Wilson to utilise the said premises, a delegation of security officers attached to the Elite Security Company Ltd and police officers were instructed to demolish goat pens erected by Mr Wilson on Tuesday, October 19.” Saying the union was hoping to pressure the company, he stated, “They were using this applicant’s name as a test case.”

“That is fraud!” Housing Minister Keith Rowley cried. “These are the lengths that these land grabbers would go to,” Narine lamented. “If they (the ATSGWTU) had gotten through and we didn’t have a copy of the original letter we sent to Mr Wilson, the floodgates would have opened,” Narine stated. On the issue of Government’s promise to give lands for homes to former Caroni workers, Narine said Government had to check to make sure those Caroni workers who applied for residential lands did not already own homes. Stressing that applicants had to be first-time home owners, Narine said there were always people who would try to “beat the system. So some of them would say (to themselves) ‘I will give my home to my children and I will get a house from Caroni.”’

Narine said he hoped that by November people would start receiving lands after all the proper investigations were done. The minister also defended his colleague, Christine Sahadeo, who was attacked by Couva South MP Kelvin Ramnath. He responded to Ramnath’s statements — something had to be wrong with a constitution which allowed a seasoned MP like him (Ramnath) to be lectured to by someone (referring to Sahadeo) “who pick up a job by the side of the road.” Narine said it was the same constitution that allowed the UNC to allow five losers into the Senate. Narine said Sahadeo was the target of UNC attacks because that party did not know how to deal with intelligent women. He recalled how the party dealt with Hulsie Bhaggan. “She (Sahadeo) has made a name for herself,” he said, prompting loud table-thumping support from the Prime Minister, who said, “That is what they ‘fraid!”