237 Leave of Absence Tuesday, August 10, 2010 SENATE Tuesday, August 10, 2010 The Senate met at 1.30 p.m. PRAYERS [MADAM VICE-PRESIDENT in the Chair] LEAVE OF ABSENCE Madam Vice-President: Hon. Senators, I have granted leave of absence to Senators Therese Baptiste-Cornelis and David Abdulah who are out of the country. SENATORS’ APPOINTMENT Madam Vice-President: Hon. Senators, I have received the following correspondence from His Excellency the President, Professor George Maxwell Richards, T.C., C.M.T., Ph.D.: “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO By His Excellency Professor GEORGE MAXWELL RICHARDS, T.C., C.M.T., Ph.D, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. /s/ G. Richards President. TO: MR. SHANE MOHAMMED WHEREAS Senator Therese Baptiste-Cornelis is incapable of performing her duties as a Senator by reason of her absence from Trinidad and Tobago: NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE MAXWELL RICHARDS, President as aforesaid, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, in exercise of the power vested in me by section 44 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, do hereby appoint you, SHANE MOHAMMED, to be temporarily a member of the Senate, with effect from 10th August, 2010 and continuing during the absence from Trinidad and Tobago of the said Senator Therese Baptiste-Cornelis. Given under my Hand and the Seal of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the 238 Senators’ Appointment Tuesday, August 10, 2010 [MADAM VICE-PRESIDENT] Office of the President, St. Ann‟s, this 6th day of August, 2010.” “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO By His Excellency Professor GEORGE MAXWELL RICHARDS, T.C., C.M.T., Ph.D, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. /s/ G. Richards President. TO: MS. LYNETTE ABRAHAM WHEREAS Senator David Abdulah is incapable of performing his duties as a Senator by reason of his absence from Trinidad and Tobago: NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE MAXWELL RICHARDS, President as aforesaid, in exercise of the power vested in me by section 44 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, do hereby appoint you, LYNETTE ABRAHAM, to be temporarily a member of the Senate, with effect from 10th August, 2010 and continuing during the absence from Trinidad and Tobago of the said Senator David Abdulah. Given under my Hand and the Seal of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the Office of the President, St. Ann‟s, this 6th day of August, 2010.” OATH OF ALLEGIANCE Senators Shane Mohammed and Lynette Abraham took and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance as required by law. PAPERS LAID 1. Annual audited financial statements of Telecommunications Service of Trinidad and Tobago Limited for the financial year ended March 31, 2010. [The Minister in the Ministry of National Security (Sen. The Hon. Subhas Panday)] 2. Third report of the Auditor General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on the financial statements of the Public Transport Service Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2000. [Sen. The Hon. S. Panday] 239 Papers Laid Tuesday, August 10, 2010 3. Administrative report of the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (and its Subsidiary, Premier Quality Services Limited) for the fiscal year 2008―2009. [Sen. The Hon. S. Panday] 4. Administrative report of the Office of the Prime Minister for the period October 01, 2008 to September 30, 2009. [Sen. The Hon. S. Panday] 5. Annual administrative report of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation for the period October 2007 to September 2008. [Sen. The Hon. S. Panday] 6. Annual report of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008. [Sen. The Hon. S. Panday] 7. Annual report of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009. [Sen. The Hon. S. Panday] 8. Special Roads (Traffic) (Amendment) Regulations, 2010. [Sen. The Hon. S. Panday] Special Roads (Traffic) (Amdt.) Regulations, 2010 The Minister in the Ministry of National Security (Sen. The Hon. Subhas Panday): Madam Vice-President, may I advise that the Statutory Instruments Committee considered the Regulations and found that there was nothing to which the attention of the Senate should be specially drawn. The minutes of the Committee were circulated to hon. Members. Thank you. SENIOR CITIZENS' GRANT (AMDT.) BILL Order for second reading read. The Minister of the People and Social Development (Hon. Dr. Glenn Ramadharsingh): Madam Vice-President, I beg to move, That a Bill to amend the Senior Citizens' Grant Act, Chap. 32:02 and to validate certain actions of the Board, be now read a second time. Madam Vice-President, I take both pleasure and pride to stand before this honourable Senate, and people of Trinidad and Tobago, to amend the Senior Citizens' Act, Chap. 32:02. This Bill is a crucial and timely intervention by the new People's Partnership administration in keeping faith with, and securing the interest of our senior 240 Senior Citizens’ Grant (Amdt.) Bill Tuesday, August 10, 2010 [HON. DR. G. RAMADARSINGH] citizens. It is also a measure that fulfils an important manifesto pledge of a Government that has been given, not one, but two votes of confidence by the people of Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, this measure fits snugly into the Government's policies and programmes of upholding and protecting our treasured senior citizens. In my presentation, I will analyze the value and importance of the Bill, and set it against the backdrop of the realities of the senior citizens in the global environment and in particular, Trinidad and Tobago and what the Kamla Persad- Bissessar administration can do to lift their lives. Clause 1 of the Bill provides for the short title, and may be cited as the Senior Citizens' Grant (Amdt.) Act, 2010. Clause 2 amends the name of the Act and includes a definition for pension. It also repeals subsections (1) to (5) of section 3, by creating a new subsection (1) which established a scale to determine the amount of monthly pension. I refer to clause 2(d)(i) which states that: "With effect from September 1, 2010 a person who satisfies the conditions specified in section 4 and receives a monthly income in the sum specified in the first column"—of the Schedule—"is entitled to a monthly Senior Citizens' Pension in the sum specified in the second column"—of the Schedule—"as follows:" Clause 3 provides for an increase in the senior citizens pension. The Bill will make official, the Government's commitment to the senior citizens of this country to re-instate a pension―it will no longer be a grant―to the senior citizens and also, to increase the monthly old age pension entitlement to $3,000. [Desk thumping] Madam Vice-President, if I were to put it mildly, it is an unprecedented initiative for a two-month old administration, this vital measure being introduced in fewer than 30 days after the convening of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. In so doing, the Government of the People's Partnership is keeping an important social and economic promise, and this Bill represents an act of fellowship and goodwill towards the elders in our society. 1.45 p.m. Madam Vice-President, although we have only been in office for a couple of weeks, we have already begun—I want to stress this, because this is very important, there were good programmes and policies existing—to reassess, reorganize and re-energize our social intervention strategy in Trinidad and Tobago. So this being one step in a journey of measures, it comes 241 Senior Citizens’ Grant (Amdt.) Bill Tuesday, August 10, 2010 against the backdrop of a synergizing of efforts and energies to accompany this measure that would make the lives of elders in society more dignified and humane. It reflects a symbolic and philosophical departure from previous administrations. As you would recall, the previous government spent about $300 billion in less than a decade, the comparisons in the short space of time are woeful. A grant is commonly known as a gift or a handout and there is always the appearance or the feeling or the perception that it could be withdrawn for any whimsical reason that the person who controls it might wish. In contrast, the Oxford Dictionary terms pension as a regular payment made by the State to people above the official retirement age and to some widows and disabled people. A pension is not an arbitrary handout, but a right of our senior citizens who qualify for the senior citizens pension. Madam Vice-President, you may recall the confusion, anguish and pain caused in many sections of the national society generally, but specifically among the senior citizens who were told that the pension was withdrawn without explanation. Instead they were given a grant and they thought it was given in a manner as if it was a grand imperial favour. The electoral manifesto of the People's Partnership suitably entitled, "Prosperity For All", emphatically promised that the Government would adhere to the principles of social justice by ultimately ensuring the eradication of poverty through the provision of safety net measures for most of the vulnerable in society. My own Ministry is charged with the responsibility to decrease poverty by 2 per cent every year, a challenge that we are well on our way to fulfilling. This promise is the cornerstone of our manifesto and is the first step in a series of measures to go in the direction that we wish to go.