Young hits Kamla, Barry’s ‘misleading’ menu

Padarath at the time worked as an aide to Persad-Bissessar in the Office of the Prime Minister.

In a statement, Young (who is a Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister) said Persad-Bissessar, Padarath and other Opposition members continue to mislead the public into believing that the function catered for 5,000 and 4,000 persons.

However, Young said documents in the Government’s possession, which were shown to reporters during last Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, tell a different story.

“The invoices clearly reflect that only 900 persons were catered for,” he said.

Young, who is also a Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General, said, “This is yet another disingenuous and blatant attempt to mislead the citizens of TT.” In contrast, Young said the equivalent PNM Divali function for this year, cost $220,409.06.

“The PNM condemns the continued attempts by the UNC to mislead the population,” Young’s statement added.

Young reiterated the overall cost of the October 2014 Divali function hosted by Persad-Bissessar was $1,677,719.79. The breakdown of those costs were: Decor -$487,400; Catering - $394,568.75; Entertainment - $98,200; Printing/Packaging $128,752.50; Shuttle/Parking $69,750; Tents/ Infrastructure $454,116.54 and Ushering/Ambulance/ Cleaning $44,932.

Last Friday, in response to a question from Padarath on this issue, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said Padarath and the entire Opposition missed what the point on this matter was,” It is not about roti. It is about profligacy in its general sense,” Rowley said then.

The Prime Minister also referred to an employee at the Office of the Prime Minister over the last five years, “carrying a handbag for $1.5 million and $600,000 in overseas travel allowance to carry a scarf.” Padarath was ejected from the House for 15 minutes by Deputy Speaker Esmond Forde for shouting across the floor at Rowley while he was speaking.

The House next sits on December 2 and debate is expected to resume on the Tax Information Exchange Bill 2016 which is key to ensuring TT is FATCA compliant.