Rambharat vows to take on ‘market cartels’

“I am one minister who really don’t put water in my mouth to say anything,” Rambharat said yesterday at the sod-turning ceremony for an $8 million 60,000 square ft. carpark at the NAMDEVCO market in Debe.

“I know about the cartels. I know about the frustration. And as I said about the land grabbers, I intend that once these works are completed and we have the appropriate zoning of activities, we have the appropriate movement of cars and people through the market, I intend to deal with the issue of the cartels to make sure that the people who sell here are not selling under conditions imposed by anybody else but the ministry and NAMDEVCO.” Asked afterwards to explain his statement, he said there were certain people who “controlled” the allocation of vending spots and parking space to vendors.

“It is well known to the vendors. It’s been a complaint and part of the reason why people behave that way is where you have areas where you have congestion, people would block and demand space and take control of the allocation. So I think by expanding and having more room available to anyone who wants to vend, we would reduce some of the pressures.” He said the new parking facility would enable the legitimate NAMDEVCO authorities to have control of the vending space and ensure all vendors were treated equitably.

Rambharat also commented on statements by All Trinidad General Workers Trade Union president general Nirvan Maharaj that some ex-sugar workers were still awaiting agricultural and residential land leases some 14 years after the closure of Caroni Limited.

“That is not true. At the last distribution, in respect of the two acre parcels, I said we had reached the end in terms of people we could find. I also said there are about 1800 people for whom leases have been prepared and these people could not be found.” He said the ministry resorted to placing the names of recipients in newspaper advertisements before an additional 600 people could be located, leaving some 1,200 people unaccounted for.

And regarding the residential leases, Rambharat recalled he had promised to deliver all those leases before he too received his lease.

“I myself am waiting on my lease (agricultural) for the last 13 or 14 years. I am also a VSE P recipient and I have said to the country that my lease for the two acre parcel will be the very last lease that is distributed. I want to make sure that every former employee who is entitled gets their lease before I do,” He also implored consumers to purchase locally grown goods saying while they could be sure about the quality of the food stuff here, there was no such guarantee regarding imported foods.