MINISTER of Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen promised to deliver hard work and not buzzwords, talking to Newsday on May 13 at the launch of her ministry's flood mitigation programme at Chaguanas Borough Council.
Newsday had asked for her take on the former government's mantra of "local government reform."
Ameen replied that a new government will have new mandates.
"There are a number of inefficiencies in local government that do not require legislative reform. We have always said that.
"The national planning direction of our government will be made public in a very short time and we will let you know how we plan to proceed.
"In the meantime, it is my intention to use the existing resources to make all regional corporations more efficient in their delivery.
"There are very dedicated people in local government – elected representatives and public servants, and they have been starved of resources.
"They have been systematically undermined and sabotaged."
Ameen alleged the former government had cut funding and had refused to release funds that were allocated to corporations by being approved in the budget.
"By fixing some of those inefficiencies we could breathe life back into the regional corporations, until we have a very clear policy directive where some of these things are concerned."
She viewed several initiatives taken by the former regime as being very superficial. "They were make-work programmes."
Ameen alleged the previous regime did not intend real reform in the regional corporations.
"So you cannot tell me you want to have reform to make them more efficient but you are not even giving them the money that is approved in the budget for them to put fuel in their vehicles.
"So you have been undermining them and talking 'reform' and all these fancy buzzwords." Ameen said the Kamla Persad-Bissessar government was different.
"This is not a government of buzzwords. We are a government of action. And our local government will be part of that delivery, being proactive rather than reactive."
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