Naparima MP Rodney Charles calls on Govt to stop skylarking with the $18M EU grant

Mr. Rodney Charles
Member of Parliament
Naparima

At a time when our country needs all the foreign exchange that it can get to improve our economy, MP Rodney Charles is at a loss to know why government is losing access to $18 million in grants by its inability to meet our country’s objectives in the EU’s “climate change and sustainability programme”.

This is a straight case of laziness in the highest quarters, says MP Charles. “We need the money” as the late Max Senhouse would say.

This EU funded program is designed to assist our country in coming up with a low carbon path to economic growth especially by developing national policies on the environment, reforestation, protected areas and climate change.

According to newspaper reports our government has already received $16 million TT from the EU in fixed allocations. However, a second tranche of $18 million is being withheld because this Keith Rowley government, in particular the Ministry of Planning and Development, has not submitted the necessary progress reports which it agreed to provide.

This was stated recently by Arend Blesebroek, Head of the EU delegation to Trinidad and Tobago who advised that “unless Government makes a proposal, the money would be lost and time is running out”.

MP Rodney Charles is calling on this Keith Rowley administration to rise from its slumber and do the job for which it is paid, by submitting the required reports thereby ensuring that our country does not lose FOREX in the sum of EUR $2.13m.

At the same time, he is asking about the status of our country’s ratification of the Paris climate change agreement which this government signed since it took office in 2015 and outstanding payments to cane farmers based on grants given by the EU.

Once again, we are all paying the price for the slothfulness of this PNM administration and its inept and clueless Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Dennis Moses.