The Minister of Rural Development and Local Government says an HR audit is underway across municipal corporations, while defending government handling of salary disbursements and criticising spending priorities at some councils.
Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen says a comprehensive human resource audit has been commissioned across the ministry and municipal corporations to address staffing shortages and develop a structured staffing plan aligned with Public Service standards.
She says the exercise will bring order to recruitment and correct past practices involving “change agents,” which she says were not properly managed.
“A lot of them were bloggers, TikTokers, talking about “follow the money,” and particularly from San Fernando West, and they’re on the campaign trail with the PNM, right? They’re not reporting to the ministry, but they’re on TikTok making TikToks at the PNM meetings. And they were getting paid. Of course they’re getting paid, and they were being paid well.”
Minister Ameen says administrative processes, not lack of funds, are responsible for payment delays in municipal corporations.
She says corporations are required to submit documentation properly and on time before disbursements can be processed.
“But you cannot call yourself a responsible chairman, and your reaction to realizing that something might be late is to put up a notice on every door in the corporation and say, “Workers, your pay is going to be late. I am trying my best to get the minister to pay off,” and at this time you haven’t even contacted the minister. So I’m seeing a pattern where I’ve seen it in San Fernando, San Juan, Laventille and Port of Spain, and when they jump out, others who don’t have the problem just come out and talk as if they have the problem too.”
She also criticised what she described as spending on non-essential activities while some corporations raise concerns about lack of funds for core services.
She says proper approval is required for expenditure changes and questions whether financial procedures are being properly followed.
“You can’t be having, you complaining that you don’t have money but you’re throwing fete and you’re spending five hundred thousand dollars on one night, one evening and is a set ah PNM people are inviting what is this a PNM party group fete? You understand me? So I’m saying we have to have priorities and you cannot be telling the public you don’t have money to pay x y or z such you don’t have money to pay for garbage collection or you don’t have money to pay workers.”
The Ministry says the HR audit and administrative review are expected to strengthen accountability and improve efficiency across local government operations.