Glenn’s $13m ‘wedding gift’ By By Nikita - TopicsExpress

Glenn’s $13m ‘wedding gift’ By By Nikita Braxton-Benjamin Story Created: Aug 17, 2013 at 9:49 PM ECT Story Updated: Aug 19, 2013 at 10:12 AM ECT Minister of Social Development and the People, Glenn Ramadharsingh received a $13 million “wedding gift” from Works Minister Suruj Rambachan yesterday as equipment moved into Ramadharsingh’s constituency to begin road works. Ramadharsingh, the Caroni Central Member of Parliament, was married last Friday to businesswoman Arlene Maharaj. Rambachan congratulated him yesterday saying, “Today I am proud to be standing next to Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh and to give him the best honeymoon gift that he would like to get which is the paving and rehabilitation of the Freeport Mission Road.” Rambachan said an hour after Ramadharsingh was married, the new groom called him to ensure that their meeting at Freeport was still on schedule. Speaking at Three Roads Junction, the site where works are expected to begin, Ramadharsingh thanked his colleague and said, “I will leave all my honeymoon commitments for $13 million anytime... Thirteen million dollars for the people of Mission Road, Freeport... Caroni Central for me is the centre of the world.” Addressing reporters a short while later, Ramadharsingh said, “Honeymoon is on the Mission Road. The $9 million or the $13 million with all the drainworks that will come, is well worth not continuing my honeymoon. I am very happy being here and I know I’ll have a better honeymoon when I leave here.” Rambachan, the Minister of Works and Infrastructure and Local Government denied that arranging to pave the road ahead of the local government elections was a political move. He said from the first month the Government came into office they began fixing road and drains. Rambachan said it was three months ago, when he became the Minister of Works, that Ramadharsingh asked him to have roads in his constituency fixed. Work is expected to begin at Three Roads, Freeport and end at the Solomon Hochoy Highway. The project is being undertaken by the Junior Sammy Group of Companies which had several pieces of heavy duty equipment on hand yesterday. Programme director for the Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency (PURE) Hayden Phillip was present for yesterday’s event. Rambachan said that the People’s Partnership Government had done the most amount of infrastructural work ever in the country and projects are expected to continue in areas of Arima, San Fernando and Penal. On the meeting that was held last Friday between Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Opposition Leader Keith Rowley, Rambachan said it was a commendable move by his leader. “If crime is to be beaten in Trinidad and Tobago, it will take the efforts of the entire citizenry and it will take cooperative effort on the part of everyone,” he said. “I am also heartened by the fact that the Prime Minister went, one will say, to a certain level of risk to herself, to the Duncan Street, Nelson Street area and met with the families of those who were ki