Rahael: Panday no Caroni saviour

OPPOSITION LEADER Basdeo Panday played no part in Government’s efforts to guarantee  a secure future for former Caroni (1975) Limited workers and did nothing to help those workers during his six years as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

This was the declaration yesterday by Agriculture Minister John Rahael during the 2003/2004 Budget debate in Parliament. Rahael said since the PNM was re-elected in 2002, Government has held widespread consultation with all sugar industry stakeholders about the way forward for Caroni but “there was no sign of Basdeo Panday. He made no attempt to meet the Government but now comes as a saviour. He did nothing as Prime Minister for six years. He did not lift one finger to help one Caroni worker,” Rahael declared. The Minister said contrary to the UNC’s claims that it never planned to shut down Caroni, a Cabinet note of February 9, 1999, proved those claims were false. He stated that arising out of that note, auditing firm Ernst and Young was engaged by the former regime to hold discussions with Caroni’s stakeholders.

Quoting from minutes of those meetings, Rahael said it was clear that the UNC planned to retrench Caroni workers and both the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union and the Cane Farmers Association of TT (two of the PNM’s biggest Caroni detractors) were in full support of those plans. Former Finance Minister Gerald Yetming previously admitted such a plan was being considered, but the UNC never took a final decision on it. Rahael knocked Yetming for suggesting that Government “carry Caroni until 2006” and reminded the St Joseph MP that since 1978, successive administrations (including the UNC) have been doing just that. He recalled that although the PNM forgave a $2 billion Caroni debt in 1993, that debt swiftly skyrocketed to $3 billion under its UNC successor. The Minister disclosed that Caroni’s current debt is $2 billion. Rahael was loudly jeered by the Opposition as he spoke about the value of Caroni’s 77,000 acres of land.