The former People’s Partnership administration’s URP social programme hired 300 people as “area foremen” because they were the parents of children with cerebral palsy although there was no evidence they were at work, acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert has said.
“It’s a very strange arrangement, where you had these people being paid every fortnight as area foremen but not associated with any project, working on any gang and with no evidence they were at work,” he added at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.
He revealed one of the names listed was that of a “famous person”, but admitted Government didn’t know if it was just someone with the same name. The T&T Guardian learned the name is similar to that of a female personality who was involved in PP’s now defunct Life Sport programme.
The situation was revealed in an audit of government departments, Imbert said.
“It was a methodology used by the previous government to give these people money on a monthly basis. It makes no sense to give the money for not performing work. There’s a difference between a salary — money paid for services — and a grant, which is given without expectation of work... this shouldn’t have been hidden under URP’s payroll,” he said.
Saying it was odd, Imbert added that a few names were associated with special schools but others lacked information and in some it was possible the person listed was not the parent of a child.
Works Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said the arrangement cost $3.1 million annually over August 2011 to very recently. He said it would be determined if there was fraud or a matter to attract a “different intervention.”
Imbert said the arrangement would be transferred to Social Development for case-by-case scrutiny, to assist those who need help, via disability/public assistance grant, and determine if there had been any duplication on social development listings.
Contacted yesterday, former PP social development minister Christine Hosein said she met the “area foreman” arrangement when she entered the ministry and it was started under former minister Glenn Ramadharsingh.
She said it was not meant that the parents had to do work. She said the programme was started since such parents didn’t qualify under the public assistance/disability criteria. She said she had visited homes of some “area foremen and could vouch they were bona fide cases.
“The PNM doesn’t take time to try to understand any system. They only want to pass off everything the PP did as waste and corrupt,” she added.
Calls to Ramdharsingh were not immediately answered.
14,000 Venezuelans
come in five months
Imbert also said yesterday the number of Venezuelans entering T&T via legal air/sea ports of entry has significantly increased over previous years’ level of 300-400 a month, to the current level of about 3,000 people monthly.
“... A tremendous increase in the numbers entering... but at this time, 99 per cent return home,” he added.
Imbert said the National Security Ministry told him preliminary figures showed 14,000 Venezuelans arriving in T&T between January and May 2016. Of this number, 43 had not returned to Venezuela.
He said he was surprised by the numbers and asked for it to be doubled checked. However, he said most came to trade, buy things to take back home and buy US dollars. He said Cedros was a lawful port.
“Immigration is looking for the 43 that didn’t return but (Immigration) seems to have the matter under control... it seems most of them are observing the law and returning... the matter isn’t one to red flag but to keep an eye on,” he added.
He said T&T and Venezuela have an arrangement where nationals of each state could enter for 90 days on visitors’ visas. He said people did not need to enter illegally but became illegal if they overstayed their time.