Ask and ye shall receive

FRESH from his weekend tour of eastern Tobago which was devastated by landslides last Thursday, Prime Minister Patrick Manning yesterday toured flood-hit areas in South Trinidad and with Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Chairman Dr Allan Sammy in tow, promised affected residents, “whatever funding you need, you will get.” And as part of an immediate remedial measure, Manning pledged to forward $7 million towards dredging and widening of the Mitchell River in Barrackpore, which should alleviate flooding in that area.

Manning’s visit to southern Trinidad came on the heels of a letter addressed to him written by Persad-Bissessar, in which she begged Government to assist her constituents in Penal, who, in her words, were in the same boat or even worse off than persons living in East Tobago, who were affected by the landslides. Part of the tour saw Manning and the entourage driving through some areas in Katwaroo Trace, Penal which, a week after heavy torrential rains fell, was still flooded. The PM who sat in his car as the vehicle slowly made its way through the flood waters, was met by residents who waded through the murky waters towards his vehicle in an effort to speak with him. The tour took the Prime Minister through Barrackpore and Penal and lasted from 9 am until 11.45 am. Manning, who also holds the portfolio of Finance Minister said Government would not only fund any necessary infrastructural work in the affected areas, but would provide machinery to clear blocked watercourses  within the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC).

“In terms of funding, the Ministry of Finance will give an undertaking that if you have money, you can spend it on urgent matters and we will replace it, whatever those urgent matters are. All you need do is submit something, get approval, spend whatever money you have and you will get approval,” Manning said. “The faster you submit, the quicker you will get approval. And if you can send a copy of whatever you submit to me, I will deal with some of these submissions as matters of urgent priority,” Manning promised. Parts of South Trinidad, including Picton Village, lower and central Barrackpore, Papourie Road and Rochard Douglas Road in Penal were submerged under flood waters, several feet deep in some areas, over the long holiday weekend due to the passage of a tropical weather system.

Minister of Works and Transport Franklin Khan, who was also part of the touring party, noted that Ministry excavators would be sent into the area to begin dredging works at main water courses. Having the full attention of the Prime Minister, who was surrounded by dozens of affected villagers, Persad-Bissessar, a former attorney general in the UNC government, made the point that the Government’s social delivery programme was also urgently needed in certain poverty-stricken areas of her constituency. “In fact there are very few if any, social delivery programmes operating within the area,” Persad-Bissessar said, noting that only two such programmes functioned within the UNC-controlled constituency of Siparia. In response, the Prime Minister promised to instruct Social Services Delivery Minister Christine Kangaloo to work with the PDRC to set up more of these programmes. Earlier on the tour, when the Prime Minister’s entourage arrived at the Barrackpore Secondary School, Manning, who is the Member of Parliament for San Fernando (East), advised  students that part of national development entailed respect by youngsters for their parents, teachers and other leaders of society.