Laventille West MP Karim Marcel has questioned the independence of the Cabinet-appointed committee that recommended changes to Trinidad’s municipal boundaries, pointing to what he described as political and governmental connections involving several committee members.
Marcel argued that the composition of the committee undermined the Government’s description of it as independent.
During the Opposition press conference, he identified several members whom he said had previously held public appointments, political positions or other roles associated with the United National Congress or UNC administrations.
Among those he referenced were Feroze Khan, whom Marcel described as a UNC campaign manager, and Peter Kanhai, whom he identified as the party’s general secretary and chairman of the National Carnival Commission.
Marcel also referred to other committee members whom he said had previously served in government-appointed positions or political roles.
The claims were presented by Marcel as part of the PNM’s broader criticism of the Municipal Corporations Amendment Bill. He argued that a committee responsible for recommending new corporations and boundaries should be demonstrably independent of the political parties that could benefit from those changes.
