00:00President Wade Mark has cast his second deciding vote in less than a week,
00:05this time clearing the government's public procurement and disposal of public property
00:09amendment bill. The move has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leader Penelope Beckles,
00:15who accuses the government of opening the door to billions of dollars in public spending
00:19with reduced oversight. For a second time in less than a week,
00:25Senate President Wade Mark has exercised his deciding vote on government legislation.
00:31Last Thursday, Mark used his casting vote to break a 15-15 deadlock and passed the special
00:37operations bill in the upper house. And on Monday, he did it again, this time on the government
00:43procurement legislation. The vote was tied at 15-15 with government senators supporting the bill
00:50and opposition and independent senators voting against. Mark's casting vote then cleared the
00:56way for the legislation to pass in the upper house. But opposition leader Penelope Beckles
01:02is condemning the decision. She says, quote, government would have you believe that the
01:07independent senators' individual decisions not to support the procurement legislation are unjust
01:14and wrong, end quote. Beckles says their votes instead expose what she describes as serious
01:20concerns with the legislation. She said, quote, the simple fact is that their decisions having revealed
01:27the serious concerns surrounding this bill and the extent to which it could be used to gut the treasury
01:33and allow billions of dollars to be squandered by this UNC government, end quote. She says she's
01:39outraged that the government pushed ahead with the bill despite the position taken by the
01:44independent senators. She added that independent senators had supported government legislation
01:49on countless occasions in the past but simply could not this time. She also accuses the government
01:56saying, quote, what is telling is that this government appears to be here for a good time with bad
02:02reason and is prepared to go to extreme measures to fatten its pockets, end quote. She cites life
02:09sport HDC gate and the pianko international airport scandal as examples of what she says can happen when public
02:16funds are not adequately protected. And Beckles warns that the latest legislation could create similar risks.
02:24She says, quote, the UNC slept well last night as it moved forward with a bill that could open the
02:30door to
02:31gutting the treasury, end quote. Beckles says the opposition remains concerned about the potential impact of the
02:37legislation on the country's finances. She ends by telling the population, quote,
02:42meanwhile, the people of Trinidad and Tobago are left to cower in the shadows of this UNC nightmare,
02:49end quote. The government has maintained that the procurement amendments are intended to improve
02:54procurement processes, while the legislation's passage now follows Mark's second casting vote
03:01in less than a week. Ravishita Wari Rupnarai, TV6 News. That story takes us to tonight's People Meetup. We ask,
03:09do you agree with the Senate President using his vote to pass legislation? To vote, text, answer or no to
03:16the number
03:16766-4886 or 766-4-TV6. We'll have the results for you at the end of this newscast.
03:24Let's see you next time.
