Anil Juteram admonishes the misconduct sold in ‘Newsday newspaper’

Trinidad and Tobago: Anil Juteram, Chairman of the Personnel Committee in the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, addressed a statement regarding mischief peddled in the Newsday newspaper of 1 April 2021, which is a matter of concern.

The statement was as follows: 

As the Chairman of the Personnel Committee in the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, I am duty-bound to correct the mischief peddled in the Newsday newspaper of 1 April 2021 regarding our opening up of 12 job positions to the people of Sangre Grande.

In contrast to what has been printed in the newspaper (from an unidentified “source”), the UNC Councillors and Aldermen are finally creating a transparent, constitutional, rules-bound process for allocating temporary employment to the people of Sangre Grande.

Contrary to the newspaper report, no one was fired. The majority team ensured that the proper, transparent legal process will be followed in hiring temporary employees in the future, now that previous contracts have been completed.

The UNC Councillors and Aldermen rejected an unlawful, non-transparent process against every practice of good government and responsible stewardship.

While a conspiracy of friends and family are being guarded by the old status quo, well-qualified and very deserving persons from Sangre Grande itself are being denied a fair and genuine chance at temporary employment in these challenging times.

I know of various people, including a single mother of four who is very well qualified, who applied for the position; however, I was not even contacted by the Corporation for an interview. 

The exclusion of multiple applicants from the process is a cause for alarm about the integrity of the entire procedure adopted by the Administration headed by the CEO.

As Chairman of the Personnel Committee, we have not even been given the results of the interviews or even the names of the persons that the Administration has already “selected” (although the Administration has no power to make such a selection — that is our Committee’s lawful function).

Those who are wedded to the old system of corruption have deliberately painted a false picture in the press. This is to protect persons who have been sitting in “Temporary” positions for 10 years, some of whom are being paid up to $12,000 per month! Some of these persons are not even from Sangre Grande.

The UNC Councillors and Aldermen of Sangre Grande are putting an end to this corruption that has existed for decades under the PNM and their agents.

We will continue to fight for the thousands of burgesses to ensure a fair, open and transparent employment process so that it is no longer only for a selected, chosen few. We will not be deterred by cheap politicking by those seeking to protect their turf. 

The UNC councillors at the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation will continue to demand transparency, accountability, and sound policies and processes in managing the Corporation’s resources.

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