The population of T&T has been expressing concerns about the $2.5 million (TT) spent so far on MP for La Horquetta/Talparo Maxie Cuffie who has been on sick leave since suffering a debilitating stroke on September 5, 2017, and who continues to be absent from the job.
While Cuffie is currently in the US undergoing treatment, there has been mixed reactions from constituents—many of them claiming that they are not getting proper representation.
His office remains open to the public, however, and measures are in place for the continuation of policies put in place by the MP, office staff said.
Other residents questioned whether operations were on cruise control for the area, while some had their own preference of candidates from the community in the event Cuffie continued on extended sick leave and a by-election is called.
Meanwhile, work by regionalbodies for the community had not stopped. The Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation is responsible for general maintenance of the area in La Horquetta, while the Couva/ Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation administers to the Talparo region, and Cepep (The Community- based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme) continues to operate in both areas, office staff said.
PNM La Horquetta/Talparo constituency executive chairman Philip Watts said in Cuffie’s absence, the executive had organised the constituency in such a way that constituents’ needs would be dealt with and ministers had been invited to the constituency to deal with issues people may have.
However, more people were dissatisfied with the lack of representation. Will a deus ex machina be introduced into the constituency in the form of Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to resolve the situation? After all, he is already filling in and has been visiting Cuffie’s office on several occasions to listen to constituents’ complaints pertaining to road repair and infrastructure works.
Asked about claims that he was a shoo-in for Cuffie if a by-election is called, Sinanan said there was no vacancy for an MP in La Horquetta/ Talparo, there can be only one— Maxie Cuffie.
Sinanan said these were just rumours and that he had never givenm it any thought.
He said in his capacity as minister he was assisting Cuffie at this time, but that was the extent of his job in the constituency—to ensure residents were represented.
On Friday evening, days after he spoke to the Sunday Guardian, a post on Cuffie’s Facebook page went up announcing that Sinanan would be meeting with constituents on constituency office day at the Caparo sub-office, 317 Main Road, Caparo, on April 5, at 3:30 pm.
There will be a subsequent meeting at La Horquetta constituency office on April 12.
Residents are asked to make an appointment at 672-3473 or 664- 8770, Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm. Watts said the PNM had a strong constituency and he did not think it will come to a by-election. He said in the event a by-election was called, however, he was very sure the PNM will retain the seat since the executive was managing things and they did not have a problem.
In the 2015 general election Cuffie garnered 10,428 votes for the PNM in the La Horquetta/Talparo constituency to the UNC’s Jairam Seemungal 7,606 votes. In the 2010 general election, Seemungal won with 8,712 votes to the PNM representative, Nadra Nathai-Gyan’s 7,633 votes.
People continue to get representation —office staff
When the Sunday Guardian visited Cuffie’s constituency office on Tumpuna Road, Arima, a representative, Thaddeus Caraballo said even in the absence of Cuffie, residents continue to receive representation. “Thousands of people would have come to the office...They will be getting assistance through a well-structured system that he has put in place and that system hasn’t changed.
“It’s just that the physical person, the body is not here right now, but the system is still in place and continues to be the same.
“In terms of representation, persons who need individual assistance and care are taken care of by office officials while other projects such as infrastructure are handled by Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan who comes to the office quite often to see the constituents.”
Caraballo said every piece of information about the residents’ circumstances was being relayed to Cuffie who was doing quite well and was extremely thankful for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers from citizens, despite some of the loathsome comments on social media.
La Horquetta
Even after 5 pm one day, the La Horquetta Plaza in Phase 1, Sel Duncan Avenue, had few shoppers— with a capacity to accommodate 30 plus shops, it had dwindled down to six tenants.
A tenant revealed that the $1,850 monthly rent was prohibitive, they had tried negotiating with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) which had an office on the premises to reduce the rent to $1,000 to no avail.
The La Horquetta Community Swimming Pool, on Slinger Francisco Boulevard, remains closed after two months due to a lack of chlorine.
La Horquetta Sporting Academy coach Jude John said residents were split right down the middle in calling for a replacement for Cuffie or a by-election, which will become more strident as time goes by with his absence from his constituency.
He said there was a correlation between when the football club was established in 2011 and the decrease in serious crimes for the last four to five years when “hot sports” displaced the hot spot of crime in La Horquetta.
Another resident, Fiona Mahabir said the recreation parks needed serious fixing and they needed playground equipment for children. She said she was concerned that there were no sidewalks on the boulevard for the children who were forced to walk on the road.
Mahabir said she can definitely suggest Sheldon Jones who lived in the community as a replacement for Cuffie and if he was elected as MP, everyone would be treated impartially.
Jacqui Regrello, a housewife from Tecoma Boulevard, La Horquetta, said she was not seeing a representative for the residents and Seemungal was a good MP for the area as he served in that capacity prior to Cuffie.
She said the area needed more parking spaces, while the play parks and football fields in Phase 2, 5 and 7 needed refurbishing.
Pele Peru, from Marjorie Padmore Avenue, Phase 2 said Carapo Councillor Kenan Gibson would do a good job as MP for the area, because she lived in the community, was a young lady who had potential, and he knew her from school.
Peru said the La Horquetta Phase 2 Recreation Ground needed regular maintenance, when workmen cut the tall grass at the ground recently they had to stop when they discovered a machete snake in the underbrush.
He said the new stadium in Phase 7 was also taking a while to complete.
Peru said every Easter the community had sports and marching, but none were held this year and last year most likely due to the violence and the Phase 5 and 7 gang warfare.
Ash Diaz, from Phase 1, said before Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and the PNM held its public meeting at the La Horquetta Regional Complex on February 22, the neighbourhood was spruced up, benches painted, holes filled, while all the time nothing was done.
He said the walls of the box drain river were being cracked by vegetation growing out of them and he wanted a home study centre to be established at the La Horquetta Plaza.
Talparo
On entering the more rural areas of Cuffie’s constituency in San Rafael, Brazil, and Talparo, the roads became narrower and more pockmarked with potholes. The two bridges in San Rafael can only accommodate a single lane of vehicles, a landslip was marked off on the Talparo Main Road, and a man on top a tractor being transported on a flatbed truck had to lift low, overhanging wires in order to pass.
San Rafael resident Tremaine Shaw said it was ironic that the Arena Dam in Brazil was the largest ever built in T&T, yet the area experienced water shortages with homeowners getting water three days a week and flooding.
There was a lamppost in a drain while other drains were filled with stagnant water and overgrown vegetation.
San Rafael retiree Franklin Narine has been waiting for nine years for the Ministry of Works to fill a stagnant lake of water which had caiman preying on his fowls and ducks behind his house and which caused his son to contract dengue twice.
On Cuffie’s health, Narine said he wished him all the best, that people were talking about the cost for his medical expenses but it came with the job and conditions in holding office.
Narine said he had no problem with whatever money the Government spent on Cuffie’s health, however as for his representation, he had never seen him.
Pratap Ramlal, from Brazil, said residents had a non-existent MP that people said was alive, but nobody knew if this was true as they did not have a picture of him.
He said the area needed a lot of upliftment, the Brazil Community Centre was in disrepair for the last 20 years.
Ramlal said the former MP for La Horquetta/Talparo Jairam Seemungal at least did something to help the people but they voted him out of office and nothing was happening.
Brazil resident Charmaine Kalloo said Seemungal’s office was on the Talparo main Road in Brazil, and from 3 am he was in attending to his constituents’ needs.
Priya Mahabir said Seemungal did a lot for the people, he often walked through the area meeting his constituents, people could drop in any time to see Seemungal, unlike Cuffie.
She said it was Seemungal who paved all the roads in the area which now suffered from a lack of maintenance.
Brazil resident Michael Diaram said residents only saw Cuffie on two occasions, when he was campaigning in the area just before the September 7, 2015 general election and for the funeral of murdered teen Rachael Ramkissoon in January 18, 2017.
He said for Christmas not a child got a toy in Brazil, except under the PP Government.
Diaram said whatever community work was done in Brazil—such as the T&TEC installation of lights and the launch of a windball cricket league at the Brazil Recreation Ground on July 9, 2011—was done under Seemungal.
Ronald Christian, from Brazil, said while the youths needed jobs, the box drains and road works were done by contractors outside of the community.
He said crime was getting “sticky” with several business places being robbed but by “outside people.”
Christian said Longdenville/Talparo Councillor Ryan Rampersad “did plenty” for residents bringing up trucks and equipment to clear the area, asking residents what they wanted, and he was responsible for getting the Brazil pavilion ready for Cuffie to open the facility one week before local elections in 2016.