Caroni workers still crying wolf

The  Editor: When Dr Keith Rowley assumed the post of Housing Minister he made it clear that under his watch delinquent tenants of the NHA who do not clear their arrears would be evicted. He told them that they would find the NHA an unfriendly place. Some of these tenants who had not paid rent for years have indeed been evicted and others rushed to the NHA to make arrangements to clear debts amounting to thousands of dollars. Recently the government adopted the same stand with the ex-Caroni workers. Almost immediately their former trade union and Ramesh Maharaj jumped into the fray, claiming discrimination; the old race bogey.

Union boss Rudy Indarsingh even boldly claimed that Dr Rowley must begin with the delinquent NHA tenants. Apparently he has not been reading the papers or listening to the news. I doubt this; in these desperate times politicians and union leaders connected to these ex workers have fallen on the old bogey of race to stir up these workers/supporters. The ex-Caroni workers have been given the best golden handshake in the history of the Caribbean and yet they are still crying wolf. The State has every right to pursue the outstanding money, indeed the outstanding money should have been deducted before handing out the VSEP payments. But then this is Trinidad where the cart is often before the horse.

MC DONALD JAMES
Couva