MSJ launches Local Govt campaign

The party, which boasts of representing the labour movement, launched its Local Government election campaign at the San Fernando City Auditorium, Harris Promenade, San Fernando yesterday.

In delivering the feature address, MSJ political leader, David Abdulah, dismissed both the ruling PNM administration and Opposition UNC as not being interested in reform of the Local Government system saying both parties were only interested in keeping power in the “hands of a powerful small elite.” “Real reform has to do with giving people power where they live and that is in their communities,” Abdulah said, and noted that the PNM had produced a number of papers on Local government reform, starting with a white paper in 2004.

“We can’t trust the PNM when they say reform that is real,” he said, adding, “because the culture of the PNM has always been that of a maximum leader.” He said there were only two contenders for the borough of Arima and Point Fortin and that was the PNM and the MSJ saying the Point Fortin borough was being referred to as the borough of sorrows after 30 years of PNM control.

And citing a newspaper report which alleged a pay out of millions of dollars to certain contractors, Abdulah called for an audit by the Board of Inland Revenue into those contractors to ensure that the were paying the required taxes. “We want to see the BIR audit every one of them…that is justice but we are not likely to see that in Trinidad and Tobago today,” he said.