Pastor: Listen to God’s voice

To our Government and elected leaders, I pray that you will listen to God’s voice and seek godly wisdom as you lead this country with integrity and foresight.” Mansingh appealed to all of the country’s elected leaders to put aside party politics and personal agendas and treat, “ with the important business of governance will result in the solutions that are desired.” The Government begins a two day retreat at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s tomorrow.

A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on Saturday said during the two-day event, the Cabinet also will meet with other non-Cabinet members of Government and permanent secretaries. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Minister in the OPM Stuart Young and Public Administration and Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie will address a news conference to be held at the end of the retreat on Wednesday.

The House of Representatives will hold its first sitting for this year on Friday from 1.30 pm.

The main item will be the continuation of committee deliberations on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislation, the Tax Information Exchange Agreement Bill 2016 which requires a threefifths majority for passage in the House and Senate. The Opposition has blanked debate on the legislation three times last year (September 23, December 9 and December 12, 2016) and to date has presented no proposed amendments for the Government’s consideration.

Government, which made several amendments to the bill in line with Opposition concerns, is expected to discuss this matter during the retreat. The Opposition is expected to hold a caucus this week to decide its strategy with respect to the FATCA legislation and whether or not it will take legal action regarding the chairmanship of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation.

The People’s National Movement (PNM) and the United National Congress (UNC) are locked in a 6-6 tie (four councillors and two aldermen each) following last November’s Local Government Elections.

In his statement, Mansingh said the country continues to face, “a myriad of challenges such as crime, violence, child abuse, economic difficulties, human trafficking, uncertainties and many more.” He said despite interventions by the Government and other agencies, “we continue to see that there is no quick fix to these and other challenges facing us.” Mansingh said all citizens must realise they are part of the solution. He stressed that only with “great hope and a commitment to God and our nation,” will TT progress in 2017.