Duke slams liming ‘short pants’ PM

TOBAGO House of Assembly (THA) Minority Leader Watson Duke is calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to “quit the games.”

This comes on the heels of several pictures surfacing on social media on Monday showing Rowley relaxing in Tobago with the caption, “Prime Minister Dr the Hon Keith Rowley is in Tobago on a short vacation. Today he’s driving through the island visiting some beautiful sites and connecting with people.”

“Imagine, he came to Tobago frolicking, frolicking on the beach in short pants when this guava season there are many persons who cannot even buy short pants for their children. Many parents, they are frustrated by the prices, they are frustrated by the unavailability of school books and the non-functionality of the boat and the plane.

“We are flabbergasted, and we are saying to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, quit the games, this is a reality show called Tobago,” Duke said yesterday at the Minority Council’s weekly media briefing at James Park in Tobago.

He noted that currently Tobago is lacking headship and management. “Tobago is dying for leadership and the PDP (Progressive Democratic Patriots) is saying we are readying ourselves for the next elections, we are ready to take over the mantle, we are ready to treat with the issues seriously and there would be no frolicking… we are saying Tobago is unsafe, we are saying that Tobago is in an economic crisis, we are saying we would treat with those issues when we get into office,” the Minority Leader said.

Duke said that people in Tobago are looking to the prime minister for his leadership, but he has failed in that area. “You cannot go around giving out smiles as if that was money, those persons on the block are still hungry, they are without proper jobs; the jobs they are given are informal, no proper contract therefore they don’t know if they are going.

“People need to feel secure in their job, workers need to feel secure in their homes, parents need to take up their responsibility of looking after their kids and therefore I am calling on the Prime Minister to quit the joking around,” he said.

Duke said he has observed Rowley driving around with his windows down and without security. “Is it that he is trying to show Tobagonians the place is safe, knowing that we have recorded the 9th unsolved murder in Tobago for the year?

“Yet the Prime Minister is driving around Tobago carefree…I ask myself who is responsible? Then we have Kelvin Charles (THA chief secretary) who should be the one driving around with his windows down and without security, he is driving around with his windows up and as if he has painted his windows black...you cannot see inside,” Duke said.