Government's $2 million flag at the Hasely Crawford Stadium should be flown at half-mast as it is a symbol of waste and corruption, UNC MP Roodal Moonilal said yesterday.
Moonilal made the point in the Lower House yesterday during debate on the Metrology Bill which specifies new unit for measurements of items in the public domain. Striking out against Government on the issue of competency, Moonilal stated there was no funding for an education campaign for the public to learn about the new measurements. Yet, he said Government could spend $2million on the flag. Moonilal said spending $2million on the flag was simply obscene when there was no money to provide water to consumers and other amenities. He said the flagpole may turn out–for the Government–to be like the "straw that broke the camel's back."
Noting that the Manning administration had been in office two years this week, Moonilal said the flag is "ample testimony of the 24 months." Taking further issue with Government, Moonilal said there was incompetence in implementing things. He said there was a pattern of this. Commenting on the deaths of three people at Macoya's Bailey bridge, Moonilal said the Works Minister Colm Imbert had the "audacity and insensitivity" to say the people, who were dead, should pay for damage to the bridge. Noting the issues of the $2million flag, the $10million outdoor stage being built at the Prime Minister's official residence in St Ann's, crime and the raid of a Saudi Arabian official's hotel room, Moonilal said Government was straining the elasticity of the people. He noted that PNM councillor St Servius Pamphile had recently been shot in Laventille while conducting his work as a meter reader with T&TEC.
"We hope that the party of which Mr Pamphile is a member will do more to protect him... Government cannot even protect workers and keep ordinary people safe daily," Moonilal added. Moonilal called on Government to apologise to the Muslim community and the Saudi Arabian Government for the police raid at the Saudi Arabian official's hotel room. He said the UNC Government had arranged, in its tenure, to have Saudia Arabian officials come to T&T to issue visas when nationals needed visas to attend Haj. Previously, he said, citizens had to go to Venezuela to get visas. Moonilal also called for an investigation of cost-overruns of Petrotrin projects. However he said the State company had refused to pay cricket captain Daren Ganga, a Petrotrin employee, six weeks' salary. "But they (Ministers) will go to President's House tomorrow night (today) and eat and drink whiskey and shake hands with team members–it is shameful and disgraceful," Moonilal added.