Food should not be used as a political tool.
Those are the words of UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who has called on the Government to distribute the promised food cards to MPs so that they can give to the less fortunate.
Speaking at Monday’s UNC Report in Penal, Persad-Bissessar detailed the assistance her Government gave people at Christmas time.
She said, “We’re awaiting Government’s distribution of the food cards that were promised. Today is already December 4 and we haven’t had any word from Government about this.”
“I’m calling on the Government to give the promised food cards to every MP and I ask the Opposition MPs: when you get these food cards and, of course, your own hampers you’ll raise to give out, to give to the less fortunate. I want to make it clear that these food cards, should you get them, must go to people, people who need them.”
“These cards and hampers should not be used for ‘politicking’ to leverage to gain political support for yourself! Please treat the less fortunate with respect and dignity. If any MP or their staff tells you (member of the public) that you need to support that MP politically to get a hamper or a food card, please call or message me ASAP and we’ll deal with it right away!”
Persad-Bissessar said, “They’ll only have these hampers and food cards, why? Because you voted for them to put them there and they’re only there because they are MPs of the United National Congress. They’ll have none of this if they were not MPs of the UNC. The only requisite you need is that you must be in need of that hamper or food card.”
“So food shouldn’t be used as a political tool to gain support. That’s why I called for every MP—whether PNM or Opposition—that the Government should distribute these food cards ASAP so we can get it out to people in need.”