Dumas dismisses threats, announces ‘New URP’

BRUSHING ASIDE threats against his life, Local Government Minister Rennie Dumas vowed that Government will not be intimidated and a corruption-free Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) will be implemented in Trinidad and Tobago. Addressing a news conference at the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation yesterday, Dumas said: “I did not see the letter. The police handled that as the police are trained to do. The Treasury of TT belongs to the people of TT. The people of TT has elected a government to determine how the resources of a country are used. The government of TT cannot succumb to any threat about the use of those resources that are outside the deliberate decisions of the government of TT. I would therefore say that when one takes the oath of service, one also says without fear or favour. As a member of the Government I will do my duty.” The Minister declared that he was not fearful for his life and the matter was being handled by the police.

Dumas is the second high-profile public official to receive death threats. In an exclusive Newsday story, House Speaker Barry Sinanan reported a threat against his life to Ag Police Commissioner Everald Snaggs. Prime Minister Patrick Manning said Government would protect Sinanan and the Speaker subsequently met with Special Branch officers to discuss security arrangements for himself and his family. Manning said death threats against public officials was not uncommon and he himself had recently received “one or two.” Contrary to other media reports, no concrete evidence has emerged about any death threats made against the Prime Minister. Dumas dismissed claims of inequitable distribution of CEPEP and URP projects. He revealed: “You will see a new URP. The URP that you will see now will not have the extent of absenteesim, malaise or the cut-rate of work. You will see work.

“You will see people on the job and you will see people being paid for work that they did.” The minister said the Laventille Council of Elders could not cry about a lack of consultation on CEPEP or URP projects. “Do we put the Council of Elders on the same status as the Laventille Corporation? We are discussing with the Lav Corp, with the representatives from the area what shall be the distribution at present. When the Council of Elders is also running the Corp then it could possibly determine how the Corp money is spent,” Dumas stated. The minister said he would speak privately with Laventille East/Morvant MP Fitzgerald Hinds about his (Hinds) views on URP but indicated he could not agree “with a statement that the projects serve no purpose. I am saying to you that if a person had no income and had no employment and there is income in a productive job that deals with improving his immediate environment. I would say that job is a worthy job,” Dumas said. The minister said: “CEPEP has been a productive unit. Therefore what we are saying is that if those are the bottom of the employment scale and you have increased productivity there, then certainly we want that base productivity to rise throughout the system.” Dumas added that the municipal corporations could assist in this regard.