$8.3M spent on roads

This was disclosed yesterday by Rural Development and Local Government Minister Franklin Khan in a statement, two days before the presentation of the 2016-2017 Budget in the House of Representatives.

Khan said his ministry has been vigorously pursuing its rural development agenda without fanfare since its creation last September. He said, “Much has been said about discrimination in this country, but it is my view that if any discrimination has occurred in TT since independence, it is between rural and urban residents.” After noting the 28 projects were successfully done on time and within the ministry’s $9 million budgetary allocation for development programmes, Khan said, “The Rural Development Company, a special purpose company, also undertook 46 projects on behalf of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, under its $20 million Infrastructure Development Fund allocation.” Khan said extensive works were carried out in rural areas such as Brasso Seco and Moruga. He indicated these are communities which have long been neglected. The minister also said areas such as Matelot, Fishing Pond, Paramin, Mayaro, Fyzabad, Las Lomas and Claxton Bay were all addressed to some extent in the ministry’s programme for this fiscal year.

“This Government understands that we must empower the local government agencies to take on a greater responsibility in the delivery of services because service is about you as a person within your community,” Khan said. He added, “At the same time, we are making targeted policy and practical interventions to ensure that citizens who live in the remote rural areas of our country can enjoy a better quality of life.”