UNC A picks shadow Cabinet

As the Opposition is the alternative government under the Westminster system, portfolio responsibilities covering the Cabinet ministries have been assigned and allocated to the other five Opposition Senators while in the Lower House ministries have also been assigned to the 15 UNC A MPs.

The portfolio responsibilities for the Senate were finalised last Thursday during a caucus meeting held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and attended by the six Opposition senators, while Lower House MPs received their portfolios on Saturday night via e-mail from Opposition Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.

When the Senate meets next Tuesday, Wade Mark, the Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate will have the bulk of responsibilities. He will be in charge of National Security, Foreign Affairs, Labour, Public Administration, Energy and Energy Industries, and the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.

Dr Carson Charles has been assigned responsibility for Housing, Works and Transport, and Local Government, while Jennifer Jones Kernahan was assigned Social and Community Development, Agriculture, Marine Affairs and Land, Gender and Consumer Affairs.

Dr Adesh Nanan will shoulder the responsibilities of Tourism, Culture, Environment, Public Utilities and Health, while the political newcomer Cindy Dwarika, who is yet to be sworn in will tackle Education in all its facets including Sports and Youth Affairs, and MF Rahaman will tackle all issues relating to Trade, Micro Enterprises, Cooperatives, and elements of finance. Meanwhile in the Lower House, Maharaj, the MP for Tabaquite, will be shadow Attorney General and the Opposition’s Special Adviser on crime.

UNC A MP for Chaguanas East, Jack Warner will shadow the Ministries of Sports and Foreign Affairs; MP for Siparia, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Legal Affairs; MP for St Augustine Vasant Bharath will shadow Finance; MP for Caroni East Tim Gopeesingh has been assigned Health and Education; Caroni Central’s Hamza Rafeeq will monitor Agriculture and the Environment while MP for Oropouche East, Dr Roodal Moonilal will shadow Labour. Newcomer and MP for Oropouche West, Mickela Panday is in charge of Youth Affairs and Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma will shadow Minister of Works and Transport Colm Imbert. Meanwhile Cumuto/Manzanilla representative Harry Partap will monitor Public Utilities, Housing and Consumer Affairs while Social Development goes to Naparima’s Nizam Baksh. Mayaro’s Winston “Gypsy” Peters is shadow Culture Minister and Subhas Panday of Princes Town North is shadow National Security and Local Government Minister. Couva South’s Kelvin Ramnath will shadow Energy. Shadowing the Prime Minister is Basdeo Panday, Leader of the Opposition and MP for Couva North.

Yesterday, Mark also told Newsday that today at 10 am, he will be filing three motions with the Clerk of the Senate.

The first motion will be “the failure of the Attorney General to take appropriate measures as instructed by the former Director of Public Prosecutions Mark Mohammed, now a High Court judge, to investigate the Labidco fiasco.”

The other motion concerns alleged discrimination in the distribution and allocation of social benefits to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago by the Minister of Social Development, and the third motion deals with the failure by the Minister of Trade and Industry to lay in Parliament a very crucial document between the European Union and Caricom, concerning a new partnership arrangement which will replace Lome.

Listed on the Order Paper for the Senate are the Amendment to the Copyright Act of 1997, and the Amendment to the Legal Profession Act. Mark intends to file a motion to find out from Minister of National Security Martin Joseph, why he has failed to protect the lives of citizens of the country. The motion will also call for Joseph’s resignation.