Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Trinidad and Tobago Assisting Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba, But Opposition Furious

By Oscar Ramjeet

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: The Trinidad and Tobago government is giving financial assistance to three Caribbean countries that have been ravaged by Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna, but the main opposition party has criticised the move.

Cabinet has agreed to give Haiti and Jamaica TT$10 million each and TT$6 millon to Cuba, making it a total of TT$26 million or US$4.2 million,

The three countries have suffered significant infrastructure damage as a rsult of hurricanes Gustav and Hanna in recent days. Some 200 deaths have been recorded in Haiti while the death toll in Jamaica has been put at 12.

The Trinidad Express reported that opposition legislators, especially Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, hammered the government for treating Caribbean citizens better than their own.

Maharaj said that the people in his district, Claxton Bay, needed help from the recent floods, but they got a pittance from the government

However, Mahraj said he had no problem with Trinidad assisting fellow Caribbean citizens, but declared, "I have a problem with government treating those in foreign lands better than local nationals."

Source: Caribbean Net News

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