Yetming: Budget speech best suited for PNM convention

Speaking during the debate on Monday’s Budget presentation at the Red House, Yetming questioned whether Manning was serious when he told the nation it could approach the new fiscal year with optimism. Reminding those in the Parliament chamber that the country lived in fear because of Government’s inaction on crime, Yetming said if the Prime Minister’s speech was given at a convention, its members would applaud after hearing of all the repeated promises concerning national security and the fight against crime.

Yetming, who had risen to speak to shouts of "equity boy" by several Members of Parliament, said the membership at the convention would be impressed by Government’s promises to alleviate the nation’s housing woes, the construction of early childhood education centres, and the special development zone earmarked for East Port-of-Spain.

Yetming, who now holds the post of Vice Chairman of the United National Congress (UNC), was elected to the position in Sunday’s UNC internal elections. He was a member of the Dookeran-endorsed slate — UNC Progressives. According to Yetming, Government kept emphasising Vision 20/20, but could not say what it meant. "We don’t have a sense of this plan. What is in it for the average man on the street?" he asked. "Does the man in Laventille and Barrackpore understand?"

He challenged the Government to tell the nation what 20/20 meant, and how we were expected to get there. He added that there was "confusion galore" in the 20/20 plan, to which Manning and Chief Whip Ken Valley shouted simultaneously "confusion in the UNC." Yetming said the PNM administration had inherited a sound economic situation when it came into government. He commended Government for its attempt at economic diversification in its 2003 Budget, adding that we should not be too dependent on oil and gas.

Yetming slammed Government’s delay in the restructuring of the port, adding that the delays in the clearance of imported goods contributed to the rising cost of living in this country. He criticised the $15 million Government intended to spend on mas transit, adding that justification for spending that amount had not been publicly stated. "Should we not be privy to such justification?" he asked.