- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 10/Aug 14:02

Padarath: UNC moving with pace, keeping campaign promises

MINISTER in the Office of the Prime Minister Barry Padarath says the UNC has been able to keep several of the promises it made during the recent general election campaign. Padarath, who is also Public Utilities Minister and Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, is pleased about the pace with which government is working to implement its various campaign promises. He believes most of the population is happy with the government's performance to date. The party won the April 28 general election 26-13-2. Padarath said the government's challenges, achievements and plans will be elaborated upon when the UNC reports to the nation on August 11 on what it has done in its first 100 days in office. Addressing a stand-your-ground consultation at his constituency office at Debe Junction on August 5, Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal first announced the government will report on its achievements in its first 100 days office at a public meeting on August 11 at the party's Couva South constituency office. Padarath is Couva South MP. In a WhatsApp comment on August 8, Padarath said, "On Monday (August 11), several of our frontline ministers will speak in terms of the government's successes and achievements in the last three months in particular." He added the reports of the various ministers will be "anchored" by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar when she delivers the feature address at the meeting. Padarath said Persad-Bissessar's speech will "bolster really the main achievements in terms of keeping our campaign promises to the electorate." He added, "We have been able to keep several of those campaign promises to the electorate." Padarath declined to elaborate, saying Persad-Bissessar will do that on August 11 He disclosed new initiatives would be heard at the meeting as well. "Separate and apart from reporting, you will continue to hear about specific plans, programmes and policies.." With respect to the Public Utilities Ministry, Padarath said, "I am very anxious to speak about some of what we are doing that will provide not only short term solutions to the water crisis but also in terms of medium and long term solutions." He recalled one of the main election promises kept by the UNC was the rescinding of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) transformation plan that was developed under the former PNM administration., "We were able to save at least 2,500 jobs at WASA but also put a system in place to make the water company more efficient and more effective." Padarath identified improving the number of people receiving a 24/7 water supply from 24 per cent under the PNM as another achievement by the UNC. "There have been wins across the country in terms of the water supply but also the political will to keep with the scheduling and looking to see how we can increase water production and distribution with the existing infrastructure that we do have." Padarath acknowledged there are significant challenges with that infrastructure. But he said the medium and long term plans to address this issue will be outlined on August 11. "One of the major successes we have had at WASA is that you will have a more responsive team now in terms of the management (at WASA) that is getting a greater degree of productivity out of the company in terms of the change of the management style." Padarath said, "A lot more is happening in WASA and I will share that." Turning to TSTT, he continued, "We were able to bring in 600 interns at TSTT over this period." Padarath said thus augurs well for government's intention to advance artificial intelligence (AI) through the Public Administration and AI Ministry. "We are capitalising on the telecommunications sector being a leader in terms of advancing technology and not just telecommunications." On T&TEC, Padarath said, "We are looking actively in terms how we can make the company more financially sustainable in terms of addressing the outstanding receivables and the debts that were left to languish over the last nine and half years." He identified another campaign promise kept by the UNC was cabinet's rejection on August 7 "as it relates to increase in electricity tariffs at this time." Padarath said, "As a (government) minister, I am very happy with the pace with which the government is moving to get a lot of what they promised the electorate to be done." He added, " A lot more has to be done in the future. We have just started." Padarath said there could be acceleration in certain areas "But I think in the priority areas...the very hands-on approach taken by ministers of government and the honourable Prime Minister augurs well for national development. In terms of the government's parliamentary agenda, Padarath was pleased the UNC's first legislative act was passing amendments to the Children's Life Fund Act, which was Persad-Bissessar's brainchild in her first administration. "Following that was the TT Revenue Authority (TTRA), rescinding the TTRA (Act)...strengthening the board of Inland Revenue." Padarath identified the passage of the Prime Minister's Pension Amendment Bill to allow pension to be paid only to people who serve as prime minister for a minimum of one year, as another campaign promise kept by the UNC. "It was a debatable issue. I think the Honourable Prime Minister and the government sought to protect the taxpayer and the nation's purse in terms of how the administration of the prime minister's pension is handled." Padarath said government was confident about the robust parliamentary agenda it will roll out in the coming months that will benefit the population. He added Attorney General John Jeremie "has been working very assiduously alongside Persad-Bissessar and himself "with respect to putting together that agenda." Padarath noted presentation of the 2025/206 budget will be one of the major items to come in Parliament shortly. "As we roll out our plans for the next financial year, in particular as the budget rolls around in the next month or two, you can expect a lot more of our plans, policies and projects to be implemented." Padarath recalled because the election took place in April, the UNC assumed office just before the mid-year review of the 2024/2025 budget that was passed last October by the then PNM government. He said the financial year was advanced at that time. "It really will be a road map in terms of completing some of the other campaign promises that we have made." Padarath said those promises include improving infrastructural development, health and national security. "Those are some of the areas that I believe that we will be throwing a bit more attention to in terms of the needs of citizens." He said, "I think the way in which the government has handled the priorities of the nation has been highly favoured and accepted in most quarters in the national community." Padarath added the UNC has done well given the financial constraints it met upon assuming office. "The mounting debt that the last administration has left us to deal with." Padarath said in keeping with its mantra, the UNC has been sharing with the public all the challenges it inherited from the PNM and its commitment to fix them. He added the budget will highlight "some of the operational elements that we have been speaking of." During the stand-your-ground consultation on August 5, Moonilal (who is also a UNC deputy political leader and Energy Minister) said stand-your-ground legislation was another important campaign promise the party is on its way to keeping. "Today is our 94th day in office, as a cabinet, as a government today." He told his audience, "In less than three months...because this (stand-your-ground legislation) has been on the table way before... we have produced the draft legislation...the draft policy and articulated it in public." Referring to the list of promises the UNC made in the election campaign, Moonilal said, "That (stand-your ground legislation) was a fundamental promise of the honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar...Prime Minister of TT." He repeated, "In less than three months, we were able to come to the people, share our ideas, policy and law and ask you for yours. At the consultation, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander said since his appointment in May, he wanted to focus on crime but had to deal with under-resourcing in several national security agencies such as the police, Fire and Prison Services. Alexander repeated that within the next two weeks, citizens can expect to see a host of initiatives being rolled out to deal with crime. He also repeated he will not be talking about what the government's crime plan is but the public will see the results of it as it unfolds. In a posts on social media on August 7, UNC PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo noted there have been a significant decrease in murders during the party's first 100 days in office compared to similar periods in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 under the PNM. He said those declines were 14.8, 29.8, 32.3 and 35.5 per cent for 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively. The post Padarath: UNC moving with pace, keeping campaign promises appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.