OPPOSITION Senator Jearlean John said the PNM should be thanking Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the progress that TT made under her watch as prime minister instead of blaming her for all of its mistakes.

John made this statement during her contribution to the budget debate in the Senate on Monday.

Opposition senators thumped their desks when John described Persad-Bissessar's response to the budget in the House of Representatives as "historic."

She said Persad-Bissessar has demonstrated that "with the right leadership, TT can be a place of equity, peace and prosperity."

John boasted that were it not for the UNC, the Government would have had no new highways or hospitals to open.

Opposition senators thumped their desks again when John said, "We have to say thank you, Kamla! Thank you!"

John claimed the Government frequently blames Persad-Bissessar and the UNC for crime.

She said there were some things the public needs to remember when it comes to crime.

"The Government is responsible for the safety (of citizens), not the UNC."

In Parliament, John said the UNC does not have the power to bring and pass laws to deal with crime.

She added all the UNC can do, in and out of Parliament, is offer suggestions about how to address crime.

"We are about the people's business."

John questioned why there were no new scanners for the port of Port of Spain, additional body cameras for police officers or pepper spray available to women to protect themselves against criminals.

Referring to recent murders involving children, John said under the PNM, a bed may be a dangerous place for children to be.

She recalled as a child in Tobago being told to go to sleep early on Christmas Eve because Santa Claus was coming.

John said this is not the case now.

"It's Santa, Dancer, Prancer and Murder."

She reiterated the UNC's claim about TT's borders being vulnerable to arms traffickers.

"Someone is letting the guns pass. Shame! Shame!"

John dismissed the recent national unemployment figure of 3.7 per cent as "bogus."

She said if this were true, why did hundreds of people go to C3 Shopping Mall last week to apply for energy sector jobs in Guyana.

"Something is not right."

Referring to an earlier contribution from Government Senator Laurence Hislop, John said, "We all love Tobago."

But she advised Hislop and other government members to speak the whole truth in their contributions.

John claimed the UNC allowed the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) to have its current 4.03 per cent stake in the budget.

That happened in 2000 when the then NAR-led THA triggered the Dispute Resolution Commission (DRC) proceedings against the then Basdeo Panday administration.

While John expressed her doubts about the Dragon gas deal with Venezuela, she hinted she would not be disappointed if it ended up helping TT.

"I hope it comes true."

At a news conference at the Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre on October 17, Energy Minister Stuart Young announced that the US Office of Foreign Assets Co

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