By Faith Edwards
NATIONAL Transformation Alliance (NTA) political leader Gary Griffith has criticised the celebratory reactions to the collapse of the Dragon gas deal.
Speaking at the NTA public meeting at the NTA office in San Fernando on Wednesday night, Griffith said, “I am seeing people actually celebrating, about this, they are pleased, you know why they are pleased, because all they seeing is the value of the politics, rather than the value of you the citizens of this country.”
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He added that political opponents may view the failed deal as a win, simply because its success could have made the current administration look good.
“To them is like, if this went through, it could have affected us politically, because it would make the other side look good, and now that it has collapsed, they do not care that it is going to affect the economy,” Griffith said.
He said, “Granted that the administrators put all their eggs in one basket, and now we may have to pay the price.”
He added, “But the point is that, for you to be ecstatic, of the fact that something that could have benefited Trinidad and Tobago, you are happy that it has collapsed, it shows you being a politician before patriot.”
NTA candidate for San Fernando West Kevin Sarran is calling for a halt on large government contracts in the years leading up to the general election, in an effort to prevent questionable spending and increase financial transparency.
Sarran said, “We all heard about the Dragon gas deal basically coming to a halt. How many politicians have you heard so far saying that they’ll put a dollar back in the treasury, the third politicians talking about how much we are going to spend.”
He said, “I would like to propose an idea particularly the last year of election, that all government contracts above a certain denomination be halt unless it’s both agreed by both oppositions. This will simply eliminate suspicious spending, last minute campaign financing and kickbacks.”
The Dragon gas deal, which had promised potential energy revenue and economic growth, was effectively scrapped after delays and unresolved international sanctions.
