Kamla: Be concerned over Rowley

ACCUSING the Prime Minister of “bullying” the media during his conversation yesterday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said citizens should be concerned at his alleged intolerance of those individuals opposed to his ideas.

In a statement, she urged Dr Rowley to stop blaming others and to start working for the country’s future. Persad-Bissessar said the event had been a lost opportunity to offer fresh strategies to move our economy forward.

“He quickly descended into a convoluted diatribe in which he resorted to his all too familiar theme of ‘blame everyone except me’.”

Persad-Bissessar said Rowley spoke for three hours but took no responsibility for his failure to achieve any substantial project after three years in office.

“We are witnessing a government in free-fall,” she said.

“With no achievements to report, they have resorted to spending all of their time, and wasting media time, speaking of their own failures and blaming others.” It is time for Rowley to stop blaming and talking about the past, but say how to move the country forward, she urged.

“Rowley bullied the media for three hours for probing his failures as Prime Minister in this Sandals debacle, yet he failed to provide a proper explanation for the improper selection process, the feasibility for a project of that scope and scale, or even a projection of return on the billions of taxpayers’ dollars that would have been spent.”

She said Rowley was upset at every turn that the media, Opposition and public have refused to just jump blindly behind anything he wants to do, even as he dubs legitimate questions “analysis paralysis”.

She said, “That is not who we are as a nation and that is not what happens in a strong democracy.”

While citizens stand up against the Government’s incompetence, Rowley simply lumps everyone together as “opposition” not to be tolerated, Persad-Bissessar alleged.

“This is something that should be of concern to each and every citizen. What we are witnessing is a Prime Minister in meltdown as he comes to terms with the fact that he has failed to lead the country.”

Saying the United National Congress (UNC) will not let the Rowley Government dictate the country’s narrative with their same tired campaign rhetoric of 2015, she said citizens deserve good governance.

“The country needs a leader with plans, policies, ideas and political will at this time and not a perennial political campaigner.

“Keith Rowley and his Government are incapable of moving our country forward, and we call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and call the election now and give people the chance to return good governance to Trinidad and Tobago.”