PROMISES BROKEN

Speaking at the UNC’s Monday Night Forum at the El Dorado North Hindu Primary school, the UNC political leader asked supporters if their lives were better off under her former government or under the current regime.

“After 14 moths have you seen anything better to the quality of your life delivered by the Rowley Government,” she asked, to which the crowd responded, “No!” She alleged that the PNM government has broken 50 promises made during the campaign trail prior to the September 15, 2015 general election. Backed up by the chorus of Lord Nelson’s classic ‘King Liar’, Persad-Bissessar listed nine of the 50 broken promises.

She said a PNM promise to reduce VAT had actually ended up with 12.5 percent VAT being added to 7,000 food items that she had previously zero-rated, (although the PNM reduced the VAT rate from 15 percent before). The second PNM promise she scoffed at as broken was the timely settlement of all Public Service wage negotiations. Thirdly she queried the PNM’s vow to strengthen the Police Service.

Next she said that in contrast to the UNC’s record of regularising squatters at places like Bangladesh, Windy Hill and Jacob Hill, she said the PNM has failed in its promise to ensure squatters get security of tenure, plus State loans and grants. Fifth, she hit the PNM’s promise of a rise in the stipend to On The Job (OJT) trainees. She scoffed at the PNM’s promise to equip all schools for technological innovation, as she hit, “Every laptop stop! They even cut the School Feeding Programme and cut the fruit.” Noting a $3 million cost to buy Cazabon paintings and a $500,000 cost to break down a prime minister’s residence in Tobago, she asked in all of this did children get anything to eat? Saying drinks were cut from the School feeding Programme, she hit, “If you child is eating a school meal and he starts to choke, you now who to blame”. Recalling the PNM’s promise to create a Sports Institute and a Young leadership Development Institute, she quipped, “That is lie”.

While the PNM had promised to keep GATE accessible to all citizens, she hit, “They shut the GATE!” Ninth, she hit the PNM’s running of the economy, including the decline of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund, on Monday dropping to US$5.4 billion.

She lamented that the Board of Management of this fund has no wealth management experts, but only academics and public servants.

Persad-Bissessar lamented that the PNM Government will implement the Property Tax, from January, on persons whether or not they have a job, and which she said will be costlier than elsewhere in the world.

“They are giving you pension in one hand, and then taking it back with the other.” She said the tax is very unfair on persons who scrimped over the years to buy a house bit by bit, only now to face this tax in their latter years. “How are you going to pay the Property Tax,”she asked aloud. Saying the PP had given out food card to all regardless of party loyalty, she said the PNM had wrongly claimed the UNC only gave to UNC members. Persad-Bissessar alleged that the PNM operatives in Siparia are trying to buy votes, she warned that any buyer or seller of votes is committing a crime and can be jailed. “If you don’t want to get locked up, don’t take the bribe.”