A contentious meeting of the Standing Finance Committee in the House of Representatives unfolded on October 22, as government and opposition members clashed over the approval of a $1.8 billion expenditure for the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training. Minister Prof Prakash Persad defended the ministry’s budget, describing it as a ‘lean, small, and agile’ entity. He acknowledged the challenges of establishing baseline financial figures for the newly reconstituted ministry and hinted at potential mid-year funding adjustments if allocations proved insufficient. However, the meeting quickly devolved into a heated exchange over long-standing vacancies within the ministry. Opposition MP Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly pressed Persad for clarity on the number of unfilled positions, to which he responded that 126 out of 911 positions had been filled, attributing the disarray to the previous administration. The debate grew increasingly acrimonious, with MPs from both sides interjecting and Speaker Jagdeo Singh repeatedly calling for order. Persad denied evading questions, while Gadsby-Dolly accused him of providing inconsistent answers. The session highlighted the deep political divisions surrounding the ministry’s restructuring and financial management.