00:00Opposition leader Penelope Beckles says the proposed changes were prompted by two UNC representatives crossing the floor to join the
00:07PNM.
00:08Well, so they're admitting that they panicked, right?
00:12I mean, they're admitting that it's as a result of a UNC councillor and a UNC alderman crossing over to
00:20the PNM that they brought this bill.
00:22And literally is giving us less than 48 hours, which is now their consistent practice.
00:28She also questioned the proposed changes to the number and the composition of local government corporations, including ARIMA.
00:35She says the government has not adequately explained how the expanded corporations will be funded or equipped to provide services.
00:43The issue there is where is the funding coming from for those corporations to properly function,
00:49especially because most of those areas we speak about simply don't have the equipment.
00:54So the government must not just tell us that you're going to have 10, you're going to have 7, you're
01:00not going to bring in a St. Augustine,
01:02you're not reducing whether it's our Laventine Regional Corporation.
01:05How are you going to deal with the city funding?
01:09The opposition leader is also criticizing what she describes as a lack of public consultation,
01:14saying major legislative changes are being pushed using the government's parliamentary majority.
01:19She also raised the concerns about the Special Operations Act and whether members of the public understand how the legislation
01:26will operate.
01:27The issue is the government is not concerned about educating the people.
01:31The government is simply concerned about using its majority, using its majority,
01:37and passing several pieces of legislation without any care or concern about the public.
01:42This follows the state of emergency, where hundreds of people were arrested, kept in custody,
01:50and at the end of the day, the majority of them were released without any charge.
01:55And that tells you that the government simply does not have a crime.
01:57The government has defended its legislative agenda while the opposition continues to challenge the proposed changes to local government.
02:05The bill is being debated in Parliament today.
02:07Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
02:13Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
