UNC goes into recess

THE OPPOSITION UNC has suspended all of its weekly Monday public meetings until Parliament resumes next month. This was the word yesterday from UNC chairman Wade Mark. He said the party has been keeping a hectic schedule with these meetings throughout the last parliamentary sessions and it was decided that the UNC would take a break after last Monday’s meeting in Tobago. The UNC chairman said the Opposition has not received any word as to when Parliament would reopen but reckoned that sittings should resume somewhere between early to mid-September as the 2004/2005 Budget must be passed by September 30. Newsday exclusively reported that the total package for the upcoming Budget will be $22 billion with the Ministries of National Security, Health, Education and Science, Technology and Tertiary Education being the major beneficiaries.

To date, the Ministries of Trade and Industry, Tourism and Science, Technology and Tertiary Education have submitted all of their budgetary proposals. At last Thursday’s post-Cabinet news conference, National Security Minister Martin Joseph said all of his Ministry’s budgetary proposals have not yet been submitted to the Finance Ministry. Although Trade and Industry Minister Ken Valley said no Budget date has been fixed, Government sources said Prime Minister Patrick Manning seems set to present the Budget in the House of Representatives sometime in mid-September.