THE EDITOR: It is early days in the tenure of this government and already the country has to witness the tit for tat, double-down politicking over the quality of the official offices and residences for the prime minister and her secretariat.
Does the country need that kind of distraction now?
Aren’t there far more pressing matters, such as the promised ten per cent salary increase to public servants, restart of the refinery and repeal of the TTRA Act, the Persad-Bissessar government should be focused on?
Minister Barry Padarath has been burdened with two major portfolios – Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and Minister of Public Utilities. Both carry major responsibility.
Given the transformation that was taking place at WASA, the issue of rate increasing from the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) and the myriad issues across the utilities sector, one would think he has little time to be hosting live social media streams to talk about mouldy walls, musty carpets and unkept grounds.
Where the prime pinister decides to make her office and rest her head is an important consideration. Taxpayers have paid for the construction and maintenance of several facilities to ensure the leader of the government can attend to the country’s business and make decisions in a safe, secure and comfortable environment.
No prime minister has to think about facing traffic to head to work or worry about whether they will have water in their pipes to put a load of clothes in the wash. And citizens are okay with that.
What citizens should not be okay with is having a senior cabinet member standing in front of a camera live on social media, putting a senior public servant on the spot to answer questions about the maintenance of the Diplomatic Centre.
Citizens should not be okay with that minister hurling insults and accusations at a former prime minister just to score political points. Sir, you’re in government now! Not on the hustings. So get to work!
If there are issues with Whitehall, the Diplomatic Centre and the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, then surely minister Padarath should simply engage the health and safety experts at the OSH Agency, the building and maintenance experts at Udecott and security experts at National Security, to assess the extent of these issues.
It is on the advice of the experts that Padarath and the prime minister should be making the decision to use these facilities or relocate. Until then, all they are doing is engaging in theatre.
SANDRA DIAZ-LOPEZ
Maraval
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