Stories by Akash Samaroo
Senior Reporter
akash.samaroo@cnc3.co.tt
The United National Congress (UNC) launched a scathing attack on the Independent Senate bench yesterday, not only questioning their independence but inferring that the President, who has close PNM ties, placed them there to thwart the government.
This came one day before the Senate was set to debate the controversial Prime Minister’s Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2025 which will effectively disqualify Stuart Young from receiving a prime minister’s pension for having failed to hold office for at least one year.
The Bill needs a three-fifth majority to pass, meaning the government will need at least four votes from either the Opposition or Independent benches.
Speaking at their party headquarters in Chaguanas yesterday, UNC PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo said if at least four Independent senators do not support the bill “they will actually allow the PNM to continue to rape the Treasury, even in Opposition.”
Dr Meighoo went as far as to suggest that there is no such thing as an “independent” senator.
“The Constitution contains no such term. They are presidential senators and in this case, they’ve been appointed by President Christine Kangaloo, a long-standing and deeply embedded figure within the People’s National Movement.”
He went on to accuse the President of being, “the most politically aligned head of state in the history of our republic.”
“Her own lengthy political career as a PNM senator in 2001, a PNM minister in the Office of the Prime Minister in 2012, the Minister of Legal Affairs in 2015 or 2005, Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, the PNM MP for Pointe-A-Pierre in 2007, and the highly controversial PNM elected President of the Senate in 2015 is well documented. She once infamously declared that she was spreading the gospel of the PNM.”
He added: “Her extended Garcia-Kangaloo family includes prominent PNM figures such as former Minister Anthony Garcia, PNM-appointed super-technocrat Noel Garcia, and her husband Kerwyn Garcia, who received millions of dollars in state briefs under the PNM government.”
The UNC PRO even criticised where the independent senators reside, saying eight of them live in north Trinidad and therefore the bench is not a reflection of society as a whole.
He also questioned the integrity of Independent Senator Anthony Vieira SC who received state briefs from the PNM administration and Simon de la Bastide SC for having “long-standing” ties with the PNM.
Citing the debate on amendments to the Children’s Life Fund, Meighoo said: “In the first working sitting of the 13th Republican Parliament, on three occasions in the committee stage, every single one of these so-called Independent senators aligned with the PNM to create a 15-15 tie.
“Remember, I said we had 16 seats, but one of them is the President, so a 15-15 tie. So, the speaker had to intervene each time to break the tie, and this resulted in a very prolonged session for such a short and uncontroversial bill to help children. This unanimity was unusual because the so-called independent senators are not supposed to coordinate their votes.”
Meighoo said they are not supposed to caucus and this shows just how aligned the president’s appointees are with the opposition PNM.
The former Senate bench also did not escape Meighoo’s critique, as he called them “rubber stamps” for the then-PNM government.
“On 16 occasions, so-called independent Paul Richards always voted with the PNM, 16 times. Senator Vieira voted with the PNM 15 of 16 times. Senator Charisse Seepersad, sister of Bliss Seepersad, voted with the PNM 15 times.
“On 16 occasions, Senator Varma Deyalsingh voted with the PNM 14 times. Senator Hazel Thomas (Thompson-Ahye), 14 times as well. Senator Amrita Deonarine, 13 times. That doesn’t sound very independent,” he said.
Turning back to the current independent bench, Meighoo brought attention to an incident last Friday where Independent Senator Dr Desirée Murray objected three times during the contribution of Public Administration Minister Dominic Smith. Twice was for relevance and once for impugning improper motives.
He’s calling on the nine senators to not thwart the will of the people and be a “backward force.”
“Do not allow the PNM to get away with this loophole, allowing persons to collect over $1 million in pension for just serving one day, or even five seconds, as Colm Imbert argued when other public servants have to work for a minimum of 10 years to receive a pension.
“The people are suffering. This is oppression and injustice.”