PNM deputy leader San­jiv Bood­hu has ques­tioned whether the Cen­tral Sta­tis­ti­cal Of­fice (CSO) now has to fear be­ing ac­cused of be­ing a “PNM par­ty group” and be­ing tar­get­ed with Pre­ven­tive De­ten­tion Or­ders (PDOs) af­ter it re­port­ed that al­most 6,000 jobs were lost in the first quar­ter of this year.

Cit­ing yes­ter­day’s Guardian re­port on CSO da­ta show­ing the job loss­es, Bood­hu claimed the fig­ures con­tra­dict­ed Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar’s state­ment that 15,000 jobs had been cre­at­ed.

“This demon­strates the dis­hon­esty of the Prime Min­is­ter, who boast­ed proud­ly that 15,000 jobs were cre­at­ed. Will she apol­o­gise for the out­right lie?” he asked.