The United National Congress (UNC) held its sixth pre-Budget consultation at the Upper Malabar Community Centre in the PNM-held Tunapuna/Piarco and Arima Corporations on Thursday.
A statement by the UNC said the hall was filled with people who were eager to express their grievances and discontent with the Government’s continued dire performance in office and to offer their solutions.
"Although those regions are controlled by the PNM at both the local and central government level, the residents have not been consulted by any arm of the Government or the ruling party to get their views on the economy, how it is impacting them, or what they would like to see," the statement said.
UNC representatives at the UNC's pre-Budget consultation in Malabar on Thursday.
UNC
It added that the UNC has stepped in to provide a vital link of communication with the Government, through the Opposition, and many suggestions and requests were made to Opposition MPs and Senators to ask specific questions in Parliament on behalf of the residents, for instance with regard to covid expenditure, cuts in social assistance, and other matters.
"The residents and stakeholders provided extremely well thought-out analyses and recommendations related to economics, agriculture, crime, sports and small and micro enterprises," it said.
A speaker at the UNC's pre-Budget consultation in Malabar on Thursday.
UNC
It noted that issues such as a lack of street light maintenance, a lack of equipment to maintain recreation grounds in various communities, excessive focus being placed on the energy sector to the detriment of other sectors, a lack of increases to police salaries since 2013, an indifference being shown to the tourism industry, a lack of emphasis on cultivating and promoting the country’s culture, poor road infrastructure, excessive spending by the Government for trips abroad, and many more.
"Calls were also made for the Government to invest more into local government so that the infrastructural issues that continue to plague the country can be fixed, to help small businesses with platforms that enable them to sell globally through the internet, to re-invest in sports from the developmental and community level, and other excellent recommendations."
A speaker at the UNC's pre-Budget consultation in Malabar on Thursday.
UNC