By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE Children’s Authority is under-budgeted and under-resourced and not doing enough to protect children.
This is according to Opposition Member of Parliament for Princes Town Barry Padarath.
He said on Sunday that Government has failed to address key issues before the Standing Finance Committee last week in Parliament.
Speaking during the Opposition’s press briefing on Sunday, Padarath claimed that the Children’s Authority requested assistance from him.
The Children’s Authority fall under the purview of the Office of the Prime Minister, Gender and Child Affairs.
Padarath questioned why an additional $62 million was allocated in the mid-year budgetary review announced by Finance Minister Colm Imbert on May 10 when it initially received $28.1 million, way under the requested $100 million in the 2022/2023 budgetary allocation.
“You cannot be asking for $62 million dollars in a mid-year review when you passed a budget in October under-budgeting and under-resourcing the Children’s Authority,” Padarath told line minister Ayanna Webster-Roy.
He also questioned how can children be properly protected if the main governing body to do exactly that was under-resourced including in human resource.
Padarath listed several concerns that included allegations that there were children’s homes in which teenage girls were becoming pregnant.
He also asked what became of the March 31, 2023 deadline date for the licensing of Children’s Homes as promised by the Government in 2022.
Those homes which were not licensed in time should be ready by May, Webster-Roy had said at a Joint Select Committee meeting.
Padarath asked what exactly the $62 million was going to be used for, because according to his information, some homes could not meet the deadline because they needed upgrading infrastructurally.
“They could not meet that requirement because they did not have the funding. Where the help and the funding come from? Not the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago?” he asked.
Padarath added, “That is why I say, the under-budgeting and the under-resourcing and I will come to the staffing issue and the Children’s Authority continues to remain an issue.”
The Children’s Authority was operating with over 200 employees when it needed 942 Padarath said.
If information requested was not released, Padarath is vowing to use legal avenues to obtain it.
To Webster-Roy he said, “You can run, but you cannot hide. Should you fail to give us this information we will use the legal avenues which we have through the freedom of information and other legal avenues to find out the information.”
Padarath again called for migrant children to be given a chance at education as an alternative for them, may be a life of crime.
Additionally, financial aid should be given to children who lost parents as a result of criminal acts.
Opposition Senator David Nakhid also spoke at the press conference.
The two speakers mentioning the significance of Mothers’ Day also celebrated on Sunday spoke about a mother’s pain who lost her child or children because of crime.
Padarath’s statements echoed that of Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar who in her Mothers’ Day message said more must be done to protect children and their mothers.
While encouraging mothers to continue being pillars of strength, she asked citizens to remember the mothers who have passed on and mentioned the tragic death of young mother Gabriella Rafael, 25, whose half-naked body was found in the Queen’s Park Savannah.
Persad-Bissessar said, “We must do more to protect our mothers, our children, and all citizens.”
