It was not a political decision, but a state responsibility. So said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Saturday evening as she responded to critics who questioned the Government’s decision to give a $55 million Christmas gift to Christian churches last year. While some churches are still to receive their slice of the gift, Persad-Bissessar said it is Government’s responsibility to support faith-based organisations.
Last week the T&T Transparency Institute called for accountability and transparency in the award of the allocation to churches and make public the criteria it used to allocate the money. On Saturday, Persad-Bissessar, addressing the South Caribbean Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists Vision One Million rally at the Ato Boldon Stadium, said, “I believe that Government funding for religious organisations must never be a political decision.”
She told worshippers whatever religion, whatever event, whatever the size of the community, “using funding as part of a support mechanism is a responsibility we all share to keep our country progressing.” She added, “It is not a decision we make at a particular moment, it is a responsibility because of how important you are to social stability and progress in ways that money cannot buy.”
She said faith-based organisations are critical to stability and harmony in T&T and continued to work quietly to build a better country. “It is now especially that our priorities must put people first, not as a favour to anyone, but as the responsibility of Government. “You, therefore, and all religious organisations have a friend in my Government,” Persad-Bissessar said. She said T&T had been facing challenging times with the economic uncertainty tied to falling oil prices.