AGRICULTURE Minister Clarence Rambharat on Thursday literally told Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein to "grow up" in a public retort to Hosein's complaints about the Government's allocation of food boxes for needy constituents during the ongoing restrictions meant to curb the spread covid19.
Rambharat used the post-Cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's to counter Hosein's complaints on Wednesday at a UNC virtual briefing with UNC PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo, Chaguanas Mayor Faaiq Mohammed and Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram.
Hosein had complained that the Government had constantly claimed to be supplying MPs with 25,000 food boxes but individual MPs had been told their allocation was being cut from 600 to 400, suggesting each MP had to cut 200 families from their list of beneficiaries. A UNC statement later on Wednesday said, "No public announcement was made about this cutback. To the contrary, on the next day, 11 May, Colm Imbert on Twitter repeated that the Government would be delivering 25,000 hampers for covid relief, a clear untruth."
Imbert did not reply to Newsday's query about this claim.
Mohammed said Namdevco had refused his request for hampers by saying these were only for MPs, but a former PNM general election candidate Sharda Satram had posted photos on Facebook of her distributing 100 hampers from Namdevco. Hosein said, "How is it that private citizens were given hampers meant for MPs?" Newsday was unable to contact Satram.
The UNC statement urged, "We need an investigation into Namdevco and political bias in the use of taxpayers’ money," the UNC statement said.
"We call on the Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries to conduct a full investigation into this alleged malfeasance and to provide full disclosure as to how and why this happened.
"Who got these hampers? What was the process used in applying for and receiving? To whom were they given to distribute and who authorized such activity?
Rambharat chided Hosein, saying that while both men had once been members of TT's Youth Parliament, he was now in the real Parliament but Hosein was allegedly acting as if still in the Youth Parliament. "Something is wrong with him," Rambharat alleged. "He needs his head examined."
Rambharat said that rather than a cut, the allocation to each MP was being increased to 1,200 food boxes.
He turned his guns to Hosein who he said had submitted the names of only 200 people to get hampers. He read out a letter by a constituent seeking a food box, complaining that when she contacted Hosein's office she was told none were available. Rambharat said Hosein had made no extra request on top of the 200 sought, although two NGOs in San Juan had made requests.
He said among the NGOs requesting hampers to distribute were the Police Second Division Welfare Association (1,000 food boxes), National Carnival Band Leaders Association (100), National Aids Coordinating Committee (439). Rambharat attested that every day people ask him how to get a hamper/food-box
Rambharat, on Wednesday in a statement sai
