Remove boldfaced Murray now

The Canefarmers’ Association of Trinidad and Tobago (CFTT) has described the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture  as  “boldfaced and brazen.” The Permanent Secretary is Trevor Murray and the CFTT came to that conclusion following a recent meeting between the Ministry of Agriculture and the CFTT when Murray was alleged to have supplied false information. In a letter sent to the Minister of Agriculture, John Rahael, and copied to the Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, the CEO of the Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd, Prem Nandlal, and Virgo Consultants Ltd, (Wayne Innis), the CFTT through its general secretary, Dave Persad, stated that the Permanent Secretary misled the Minister and was guilty of “uttering distortions and lies.”

The Agriculture Ministry and the CFTT met to discuss the 2004 sugar cane crop but at that meeting the CFTT, according to Persad, was bewildered to hear the Permanent Secretary say that “we lacked the spirit of cooperation and refused to attend meetings called by the Ministry, and also that we failed to submit proposals for the lifting and handling of farmers’ cane for the 2004 crop.” “We challenge the PS to provide any documentary evidence or otherwise to substantiate his scandalous allegations,” Persad stated. The CFTT stated that “it was stunned that such a high-ranking official could be so biased, prejudiced, and discriminatory. It said he certainly lacked professionalism in advising on the several issues affecting canefarmers, and in particular, the proposal to allow the association to operate 80 percent of the scales. “Consequently we are of the view that such an individual ought not to continue in such a sensitive position and demand an apology from the PS and his immediate removal,” the general secretary stated.

The CFTT  was not accepting the proposal by the Ministry to increase the price for a tonne of cane by $10, and  instead  was recommending $20 which means that the price for a tonne of cane supplied by farmers would now be $200, Persad stated. Persad also noted that CFTT would resist any attempt to allow the Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers’ Association (TICFA), led by Raffique Shah, to operate 80 percent of the scales during the crop. The CFTT is emphasising  that before the start of the 2004 crop that “a restructured Cane Farming Department should be re-employed to manage the crop and move the farmers during the crop into a cooperative scheme to manage their affairs thereafter.” “We believe that this proposal is non-contentious and will ensure a smoother management of the 2004 crop,” Persad stated.