51 Leave of Absence Wednesday, June 09, 2004 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Wednesday, June 09, 2004 The House met at 1.30 p.m. [MR. SPEAKER in the Chair] PRAYERS LEAVE OF ABSENCE Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, I have received communication from the hon. Member for Siparia (Mrs. K. Persad-Bissessar) requesting leave from today's sitting of the House. The leave which the hon. Member seeks is granted. PAPERS LAID 1. Report of the Auditor General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on the financial statements of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation for the year ended December 31, 1997. [The Minister of Trade and Industry and Minister in the Ministry of Finance (Hon. Kenneth Valley)] 2. Report of the Auditor General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on the financial statements of the Caroni County Council for the period January 01, 1991 to September 30, 1991. [Hon. K. Valley] 3. Report of the Auditor General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on the financial statements of the National Broadcasting Network Limited for the period September 01, 1999 to December 31, 2000. [Hon. K. Valley] 4. Report of the Auditor General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on the financial statements of the National Broadcasting Network Limited for the year ended December 31, 2001. [Hon. K. Valley] Papers 1 to 4 to be referred to the Public Accounts Committee. 5. The Transfer of Functions (Commissioner of State Lands) Order, 2004. [Hon. K. Valley] FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT Presentation The Minister of Trade and Industry and Minister in the Ministry of Finance (Hon. Kenneth Valley): Mr. Speaker, I wish to present the Second Report of 2003/2004 Session of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on proposals for the Supplementation and Variation of the 2004 Appropriation. 52 Oral Answers to Questions Wednesday, June 09, 2004 ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS British Consultant James Humphreys (Details of Recruitment) 105. Dr. Roodlal Moonilal (Oropouche) asked the hon. Minister of Public Administration and Information: (a) Could the Minister state the terms and conditions under which the British Consultant James Humphreys has been recruited to provide consultancy services, undertake social surveys and provide training to members of the government of Trinidad and Tobago? (b) Can the Minister indicate whether Mr. Humphreys has indeed produced any reports for the government based on his assignment in Trinidad and Tobago? (c) If such reports have been completed, can the Minister state when these reports will be laid in this House or made available to Members of Parliament? The Minister of Trade and Industry and Minister in the Ministry of Finance (Hon. Kenneth Valley): Mr. Speaker, the information in the marketplace is highly competitive and any organization, including the Government must constantly improve its ability to communicate its message. The need to improve the Government's communication skills was also confirmed by the opinion leaders survey which is an ongoing exercise involving 2,800 citizens to gauge inter alia, the public’s perception of the effectiveness of the programmes and policies of the country's public service. The decision was taken to utilize the services of Mr. James Humphreys to conduct training seminars to achieve the following objectives: • to sensitize relevant government officials on how the communications function in the United Kingdom is managed; • to achieve an understanding as to how a proactive and integrated government agenda is realized. During his stay here Mr. Humphreys conducted five training seminars. The seminars conducted were as follows: (i) Wednesday, May 05, 2004: the morning session targeted communication specialists, speech writers and advisors to Ministers in the public service. 53 Oral Answers to Questions Wednesday, June 09, 2004 (ii) Wednesday, May 05, 2004: the afternoon session was directed at communication specialists from the state enterprises and representatives from media houses and some private sector agencies. (iii) Thursday, May 06, 2004: the participants at this session were Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries. (iv) Friday, May 07, 2004: focused on techniques and was targeted at communications personnel in the Ministry of Public Administration and Information and the Office of the Prime Minister. (v) Saturday, May 08, 2004: was a session for the executive members of Government. For his services, Mr. Humphreys was paid a fee of TT $52,201. It was also agreed that the Government would pay the airfare for Mr. Humphreys to and from Trinidad and Tobago as well as his accommodation during his stay here. The cost of the airfare was TT $34,180.65 and accommodation expenses amounted to TT $5,956.26. Mr. Humphreys was not required to produce any report arising from this assignment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Breathalyzer Test (Introduction of) 106. Mr. Subhas Panday (Princes Town) asked the hon. Minister of Works and Transport: (a) Could the Minister state whether the Government intends to introduce the breathalyzer test for drivers who are suspected of being intoxicated, and if so, when? (b) If the answer to (a) is in the affirmative, could the Minister further state what steps have been taken so far in this regard? The Minister of Works and Transport (Hon. Franklin Khan): Mr. Speaker, the Government intends to introduce the breathalyser test for drivers who are suspected of being intoxicated. In furtherance of this objective, the Government intends to introduce into Parliament in 2004 a Bill to amend the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, Chap. 48:50. The Bill shall, inter alia, empower police officers to demand and obtain samples of breath from motor vehicle drivers who are suspected of being under 54 Oral Answers to Questions Wednesday, June 09, 2004 [HON. F. KHAN] the influence of alcohol. The Bill shall also make provisions for the types of equipment to be used for the purposes of breath alcohol testing. As part of the process of finalizing the legislation, the draft Bill was circulated for public comment. Upon receipt of these comments, several issues were raised that required analysis and the formulation of policy. At the present point in time, the last of these policy issues are being ironed out and appropriate drafting instructions are to be transmitted to the drafting department of the office of the Attorney General. In addition, the Ministry of Works and Transport has had exploratory consultations with various firms and enterprises that deal with or market breath analysis equipment. Research is currently being undertaken as to the type, suitability, reliability and user-friendliness of such equipment, as well as the training required by police officers and licensing officers for the proper usage of such equipment. We anticipate that along with the introduction of the Bill into Parliament, a process shall be developed for the procurement of appropriate breath analysis equipment for use on the nation’s roads. I thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Sharma: A supplemental question, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister aware that there was an offer from the Canadian government to make these equipment available and negotiations had taken place to that effect? Hon. F. Khan: No, I am not aware, but I can check. It is not the intention to resuscitate dead issues but if there is some credence to going that way, we would surely do so. Mr. Sharma: I asked that because the Minister’s answer does not say anything. Speed Traps (Details of) 107. Mr. Subhas Panday asked the hon. Minister of National Security: (a) Could the Minister indicate if speed traps are being operated between the hours of 6.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m.? (b) If the answer to (a) is in the negative, why not? (c) If the answer to (a) is in the affirmative, how many have been executed from January 01, 2002 to date? 55 Oral Answers to Questions Wednesday, June 09, 2004 The Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security and Minister in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Hon. Fitzgerald Hinds): Mr. Speaker, hon. Members are advised that speed traps are not operated between the hours of 6.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. in Trinidad and Tobago. The Commissioner of Police has indicated that speed traps are not operated between 6.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. because the natural light is poor and there is often in some cases, an absence of street lighting. These make it difficult for police officers to identify the registration numbers of the motor vehicles. This places the lives of police officers at grave risk and, thirdly, affects the effective operation of the speed stop-watches used by the officers in this process. In light of the answer given, part (c) is not applicable. I thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. S. Panday: A supplemental please, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister state whether he is happy with that explanation? Two, what about areas where the highways are properly lighted? Hon. F. Hinds: I think I need to make a small grammatical correction. It should be “properly lit”. In any event I am called upon to give vent to my emotional state about whether I am happy or unhappy. I have just given a state of facts and that should suffice. Mr. S. Panday: Mr. Speaker, what about the highways which are “well lit”, according to the Minister? He indicated that they cannot see the numbers of the vehicles and we ask: What about those well lit highways? Hon. F. Hinds: The Member is so keen to detain us with that simple question that he has disregarded the other elements that I have highlighted. Mr. S. Panday: Mr. Speaker, a further supplemental. [Crosstalk] Mr.