In defence of the MP for Arima

I am a resident of a little village that makes up the Arima constituency.

I do not live in Paria, but I attend all its activities because of the ties I have with that community.

One thing I can vouch for is that each time I go to any activity in Paria, I see the Member of Parliament there. He would be accompanied by his wife or grandchildren. I have seen him in Paria no less than three times this year and that is only counting the times I have been there.

It struck me as very odd that any resident will be purported to lament Education Minister Anthony Garcia’s absence from his constituency, in particular Paria.

As far as I understand, Garcia has emotional ties to that community since his wife comes from that village.

It is possible that in the recent disastrous occurrence due to the severe rains, circumstances prevented Garcia’s immediate presence but as far as I understand, the Member of Parliament reacted immediately to source help for the residents in ways that his physical presence could not have accomplished.

In this business of politics we may need to be suspicious of the source of complaints. Sometimes there is more in the mortar than the pestle. Granted, in the ideal situation, the MP should be on spot, but since that was not possible in this instance, I am sure all that could have been done was done.

I felt compelled to put pen to paper because an injustice is being perpetrated here.

JOHN PLAZA Arima