THERE is no programme to absorb former CEPEP and URP workers, Local Government Minister Khadijah Ameen said yesterday, as she instead pointed to the National Recruitment Drive launched on Sunday.

Ameen was responding to questions from San Fernando East MP Brian Manning, during the Standing Finance Committee’s examination of her ministry’s budget allocation of $2,094,516 for fiscal 2026.

At yesterday’s session at the Red House, Port of Spain, Manning noted a decrease by almost $4 million in the allocation for salaries, Cost of Living Allowance and related expenses.