Education Minister gets $1.4M for overseas travel

While some ministers have been given an overseas travel vote of $30,000 and $40,000, the Minister of Education has been given an overseas travel vote of $1.4 million, Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar told Parliament yesterday. She also accused Government of  spending large amounts — $125 million — on “party, spreeing and publicity.” Speaking in the Budget debate in the House of Representatives, she recalled that under the UNC, while she (Persad-Bissessar) and Adesh Nanan were in the ministry, they received about $200,000 to $300,000 for travel. The present Government she observed, had become the number one advertiser, with “obscene amounts” being spent on centre spreads, she said. Persad-Bissessar advised all those who did not have shares in any media house to buy shares now.

Referring to the vote for overseas travel, the UNC  MP stated: I noticed that the Minister of Education, who goes to work everyday, seems to be out of the country on quite a few occasions.” she said. She said in addition to overseas travel vote, there was a hosting of conferences and seminars vote as well as a promotions vote for all ministries. Persad-Bissessar stated that according to the Budget document the Office of the Prime Minister spent $3 million on propaganda (promotion) in 2004, and was allocated $4.5 million for the next fiscal year. The “Minister of Education was given $3.095 million,” she noted. Meanwhile Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, $100,000. A chorus of sympathetic “oooooohs” came from her colleagues.
“Surprisingly,” she said, “the Ministry of Community Development was only given $100,000.” On the travel vote, she said: “These fellas ain’t getting to travel at all.” Valley rose to point out whether it was the votes being quoted by Persad-Bissessar were for the particular “minister” or the particular “ministry.”

Persad-Bissessar conceded that it was for the ministry, but she continued to speak in terms of ministers. An angry Valley accused her of misleading the Parliament. Persad-Bissessar said Rowley got $160,000 for travel, while Imbert was allocated $150,000. “And I am asking you to compare these with the millions being allocated in the other ministries,” she said. She said in 2005, Manning promised 43 pre-schools in 2002 Budget, 30 in 2003 Budget and 43 in 2005 Budget, but not one pre-school was built Persad-Bissessar said it was all a hoax perpetuated on the population, with the assistance of full page ads. She said for the past three years, the Minister of Education had been promising to de-shift schools, but in three years, three schools were de-shifted — one school per year. “So if they have 40 schools to de-shift, it means they’re going to take 40 years,” she said.