Tancoo: Gov’t playing Russian roulette with our lives and economy

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Tancoo: Gov’t playing Russian roulette with our lives and economy

UNC MP, Davendranath Tancoo said the PNM government is playing Russian roulette with our lives and economy.

In a media statement yesterday, Tancoo said government has deliberately chosen to risk the lives of citizens in an effort to divert attention away from the growing list of problems affecting the country as there have been no public statements on measures implemented given the latest Covid variant.

The Oropouche West MP and Shadow Minister of Finance noted that “A responsible government acting in the public interest would have already issued further information on the Covid variants, advising the population of the required precautions, symptoms to look out for, possible medications for use, protocols at hospitals, airports and all points of entry. Instead the Minister of Health relaunches a vaccination drive with vaccines designed for Covid-19 and influenza, without a word of its efficacy against the new variant.

According to Tancoo “The government appears to have focused on the fete distraction while exposing citizens to risk as the country is in the midst of grand preparations with funding of $150 million for the “Mother of all Carnivals” after a two-year hiatus due to the global Covid pandemic.

But with the rise of a new deadly variant of the Covid virus and travel restrictions with testing becoming mandatory in the USA for travellers from China, what is our government doing to protect us? Officially? Nothing!” With the expected influx of visitors and the heightened crowd activities, there will be increased opportunities for Covid infection and spread.

Recent statistics have shown that the number of COVID positive cases continue to rise with several people dying daily from over the past few weeks.

Tancoo declared that “This government continues to neglect the people of our country, as nothing is being done about runaway crime, high food prices, and rise in poverty. Instead diversionary tactics are implemented to distract the population from the problems that we all face. Perhaps they think that with another possible lockdown should there be a surge in Covid cases after Carnival, the international donations and financial gifts will come pouring in from global agencies to save them yet again?”

He questioned “What would be the cost to this country? It would be in the billions of dollars, losses incurred by businesses, permanent closure of companies and SMEs, thousands of unemployed citizens, hundreds of thousands on the verge of poverty, and the loss of life and livelihoods. To this day this government has not accounted for the expenditure of billions of dollars that were borrowed, donated or gifted for pandemic relief between 2020 – 2022.”

Tancoo declared that “Trinidad and Tobago cannot endure any more under this PNM government. From their failure to provide basic amenities like water and electricity, to their failure to stimulate the economy, they have failed in every way. Their answer is always to punish the people, through more taxes, higher rates for water and electricity, withdrawal of fuel subsidies, withholding VAT and income tax refunds, while keeping salaries frozen.

Two days of revelry won’t make us forget, nor would it solve our problems. It might make them far worse. Stop playing with the lives of citizens.”

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