Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh said corruption is King in T&T. He told members of the Lower House during yesterday's debate on the 2009/10 national budget that there was no accountability of leadership and no trust in authority in T&T.
"The Government is guilty of flagrant, blatant, open nepotism, corruption and lack of integrity and morality in public affairs," he said. He added: "We are being sucked disconcertingly into a precarious maelstrom of anomic internal conflict, instability and insecurity. This Government has poisoned and corroded every aspect of public life and of what we once knew as independent institutions." Gopeesingh raised concern about the restructure of T&T's national airline.
"BWIA (was) restructured to Caribbean Airlines for $1.5 billion. What was that? A change of the bird on the tail of the aircraft? This same PNM government sold 25 per cent of BWIA to Ed Acker in the 1990s for $10 million. This same Caribbean Airlines considered purchasing a losing airline, Air Jamaica. Who are the players in Caribbean Airlines?" asked Gopeesingh. "Are they the same players with WASA and Clico's new management? What a corrupt mess. Same BWIA which wants to pay their minority shareholders 22 cents per share, but uses taxpayers' $1.5 billion to restructure," he said.