Monday, October 5 2009

THE REFORMERS, led by first vice-president of the Public Services Association (PSA) Stephen Thomas yesterday said their opponents in the union’s elections, Pioneers, lacked an understanding of finances which is why the union’s housing development projects was being criticised. Thomas vowed to press ahead with the union’s wealth creation initiatives after winning the PSA elections on November 25.

Team Pioneers, led by Watson Duke, chairman of the PSA’s WASA section, has questioned spending by the incumbent PSA executive led by Jennifer Baptiste-Primus. In a release Duke said the Reformers “is only focusing on how much members’ money they can spend building castles in the sky while the rank and file members are not benefitting from these unwise investments”.

He said Baptiste-Primus was fond of telling the story of the two people eating at the table and one being distracted to look at a butterfly as the meat was taken from their plate.

“The view of the general membership is that they have taken away the members’ meat by taking away their lands at Long Circular and Valencia, giving them wholly over to the hands of ‘strange investors’ while the membership was advised to look at the sky and envision financial benefits,” he said.

Duke said there was a deafening silence from Thomas on the matter.

“It is time to break the cycle of financial pain that has become the hallmark for public officers over the last 12 years of the Reformers executive.”

In an interview yesterday, Thomas said the Pioneers lacked an understanding of finances. Referring to the La Forteresse apartments at Long Circular, he said with thousands of public servants in need of homes it made no sense to provide the 100 units at Long Circular at below the market value price.

“The rest of the membership would have the impression that only a privileged few were specially chosen,” he said.

Thomas said instead it was decided the profits generated from this project will be used to provide affordable housing elsewhere such as Valencia. The PSA will also acquire land in Tobago for a housing project. Thomas said the Reformers will provide thousands of homes for members.