Kamla: Govt to blame for breathalyser

At Thursday’s post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall, Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert said agreement has been reached in principle between Government and the Opposition on the legislation but Government was waiting for a signal from the Opposition that they (UNC) were ready to proceed since it required a special majority for passage. Imbert said he had spoken with Persad-Bissessar on the matter and was hopeful the UNC would be ready to move ahead with the legislation in the next parliamentary session which begins in mid-August. However in an immediate response, Persad-Bissessar described Imbert’s remarks as “disingenuous.” Stating that it was the responsibility of Government and not the Opposition to lay legislation in Parliament, Persad-Bissessar said all previous Government-Opposition consultations were initiated by Prime Minister Patrick Manning. She said copies of the breathalyser legislation were provided to the Opposition but there has been no invitation to the Opposition for consultation on the bill.

Persad-Bissessar claimed that Imbert does not appear to be aware of Manning’s agenda or vice versa.

She added that the Opposition has been ready for some time for the legislation to be passed.

Persad-Bissessar claimed past delays by Government prevented the Police Reform Bills and the Occupational Safety and Health Act from being passed in Parliament, with the UNC being blamed by the Government for delaying those bills.

She advised Imbert to spend less time focusing on the rifts within the UNC and more on the work his ministry is supposed to be undertaking.