jesse.ramdeo@cnc3.co.tt
United National Congress councillor in the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, Shanty Boodram, says repeated requests for a virement (transferring items from one financial account to another) from the Government have fallen on deaf ears.
According to her, the over $1 million being sought from the Government is aimed at creating employment and addressing flooding issues in the region.
Dyring a protest yesterday, Boodram said the recent adverse weather has worsened conditions for residents, who are unable to get the necessary assistance due to a lack of funding.
“These people here have had enough. You see September 26, Budget Day, these people will be heading in front Parliament to voice their concerns because they did not release the funding now, for this financial year and we going to take them in front Parliament and deal with them once and for all.”
Residents also raised their struggles with unemployment.
The corporation, which provides short-term employment, has been unable to hire people due to what its chairman Dr Allen Sammy said was the failure of the Government to release funds.
Vashtie Nannan explained that a lack of income had left her family on the brink.
“Not everybody have a daily job, we does depend on this corporation for my husband to buy food for my household. And without getting a day work, what we have to do?”
Natalie Atwell also said many people were languishing as a result of a lack of opportunities.
“We are out of jobs right now, we home. We mostly get jobs one fortnight in and one fortnight we home, sometimes we home for two months without a job and remember we are single parents, we have bills to pay and all these different things to do,” Atwell said.
A father of two also explained that failure to earn an income has impacted his children, who are yet to receive all their school supplies for the new school term.
Dr Sammy claimed the corporation has only received just over 50 per cent of its allocated funding for the year and is in dire need of the remainder.
