Govt committed to reforming URP

Speaking in the Senate, Dumas recalled that when he sought the assistance of the private sector to find jobs for 75,000 plus URP applicants, the business organisations literally "bolted and ran."

Dumas said the URP was "useful, productive and relevant" and was necessary because one could not leave out 77,000 people from an economy that had a turnover of more than $100 billion a year.

Noting calls for Government to convert URP into a training and labour pool for the private sector, Dumas wondered aloud if the private sector was ready for this.

Saying that one could not train an animal unless you catch it and control it, Dumas said Government was committed to reforming URP.

He said out of a total of 77,618 applicants, the programme this year had provided employment for 67,288 beneficiaries over 22 fortnights.

Deosaran supported Dumas in his criticisms, stating that he wished that the private sector, instead of putting pressure on Government to do things overnight, "should put their money where their mouths are."

A lot of Government expenditure he said, redounds to the profitability of the private sector. He said the private sector had to be more grateful in terms of accommodating graduates and enhancing its social programmes to become a real partner with the Government in development of the society.

Deosaran said the private sector had to see how jobs could be reshaped to help Government pick up the load of having to employ 77,000 people. "This is not sustainable (for the Government alone to do)," he said.

Speaking about the ministry’s work, Dumas warned that it will be closing off certain secondary roads to large vehicles.

"We have a phenomenon whereby we repair the roads and then we have a tonnage of trucks that the road is not designed to support. We cannot afford to have people getting high-level profits in the construction programme while they destroy the infrastructure at the secondary roads level," he said.

Dumas said for the year 2004/5 the Ministry of Local Government had undertaken 2,711 infrastructure projects. Of the total number distributed, 817 were under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), 220 under Road Improvement Fund; 302 under the Infrastructure, renewal, improvement and development programme; 1,372 under URP.

He said for the period 2004/5 the sum of $237 million has been allocated for construction, development and the upgrading of drains, the strengthening and paving of roads, footpaths and sidewalks, construction of retaining walls, repairs to landslips and upgrade of bridges.

He said under the Municipal Corpora-tions Development Programme, $108.3 million had been released for the construction of drains, road paving, construction of bridges, repairs to landslips, upgrading of markets and abattoirs, cemeteries, recreation facilities and Local Government buildings, development of retaining walls and the installation of streetlights.