“I will not be intimidated. I will continue with my work.”
That was Minister of Rural Development and Local Government and Member of Parliament for St Augustine Khadijah Ameen’s response to media questions regarding reported “threats” to her life.
On Tuesday, she said she will not allow any threat to her life to hamper work in her constituency or as Minister. She expressed confidence in intelligence gathered by security agencies and said she is committed to the government’s stance on dealing firmly with corruption.
“It’s important for me as an elected representative to be present, to continue to be present in the St Augustine constituency but throughout Trinidad in Local Government. And our government has always been very hands-on in terms of governance, in terms of meeting with people, in terms of consulting, working with stakeholders, and we will continue that. I want the public to be assured that the threats or perceived threats will not hinder our work and our commitment.”
Minister Ameen said corruption has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, depriving the less fortunate of vital resources.
“The Prime Minister has been bold enough to take the bull by its horns. It is not only URP that you had corruption, the CEPEP and the reforestation programmes where they were giving contracts to friends and family, but there are several places in almost every Ministry where you can find contracts being given for exaggerated amounts, where you cannot find value for work, where very little, if any work at all, would have been performed, where you had legal fees being paid, I mean, millions of dollars for legal consultations and so on.”
Minister Ameen said while there may be a few people who are involved in issuing threats, thousands are happy with the government’s stance. She said the government will continue to work in the interest of all.
“So of course this is escalated, and we will take the necessary steps, but that will not hinder the work that we have to do. I want to give my commitment to the public that I will not be intimidated. I will continue with my work.”
Recent media reports indicate that a bounty has been placed on the lives of three government ministers: Minister Ameen, Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge, and Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath, as well as Unemployment Relief Programme Manager, Feroze Khan.