Imbert: Kamla's challenge 'a joke'

FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert said the Opposition Leader's challenge to debate the Prime Minister is "a joke." Imbert made this statement on CNC3 Morning Brew today. Kamla Persad-Bissessar issued her challenge to Dr Rowley, after part one of Rowley's presentation on the economy on Sunday night. "Is this the same Opposition Leader who refused to debate with Dr Rowley in 2015?" he asked.

On Persad-Bissessar's claims the figures Rowley used were bogus, Imbert pointed to several documents before him. "The figures are here," he said. Imbert said Persad-Bissessar and the entire opposition have already agreed that these figures are accurate.

He explained these were the same figures which were mentioned in last year's budget debate in Parliament. At that time, Imbert said no opposition member ever said, "the figures were bogus." He wondered how could Persad-Bissessar claim the official statistics were wrong "three months later." Imbert said Rowley's presentation was "not an address to the nation." He said the PM was trying something new. He said Rowley's presentation would "appeal to a wider audience." Imbert said Rowley believed "the use of graphics would allow most viewers to understand the figures and the concepts." Imbert said when someone engages in a narrative people "could become distracted, lose focus and not understand what you’re saying."

He said his tenure in politics has taught him "that you need to repeat things because quite often it does not sink in immediately." While some segments of the population understand the Government's actions, Imbert said there is "a wide body of people" who still don't understand the problems the country is in.

He said the last three years were challenging because "we were not able to spend as much money as we had in the past." Imbert said Rowley's presentation was "a recap of the situation we found ourselves in." Going forward, Imbert said Government will tell the population more about what it will be doing in the next two years.

Imbert said it is no secret "we are into three election years."

"There is going to be a local government election at the end of this year," he said. By law, he said the election must be called between the end of November and next February. Imbert explained the five-year term of a government begins with the first sitting of the new Parliament. He said Rowley has the same option Persad-Bissessar had to call general elections within a three month period after Parliament is dissolved.

Imbert said this means the last date for general elections could be next December or January 2021. He added that Tobago House of Assembly elections are constitutionally due in 2021. "The PNM has a history of calling elections on time," Imbert said. He explained that Rowley's presentation was not a political campaign launch in the traditional sense. But he said, "We have to start focusing on the issues that will be important to the electorate."