Kamla calls Faris greedy

Apart from demanding that the Prime Minister call elections now, Kamla Persad-Bissessar also called for the immediate dismissal of the Attorney General whom she strongly criticised regarding the renewal of the controversial lease on a building owned by his relatives.

Speaking at the Monday night forum at the Rio Claro East Secondary School at Clear Water last night, the Opposition Leader said people "are catching their nenens" and accused the Government of having no care for poor people.

"So, they have no money to keep Petrotrin running, no money to keep the workers at TSTT, they have no money. You know what they money for? They seem to have a lot of money to rent a building from the Attorney General to pay $23 million in a contract— they have plenty of money for that," Persad-Bissessar told supporters.

She accused the Government of also having no money to pay UTT workers, flood victims and the Police Commissioner whom she said was now "begging" for money to buy basic things like paying for phone bills.

As tempo heats up for the general election which is constitutionally due next year, Persad-Bissessar pledged to get rid of the ruling People's National Movement (PNM) and "bring back good governance in TT."

On several occasions, she referred to Faris Al-Rawi as Johnny Seukaran calling him greedy regarding the lease.

"If you work an eight-hour day and get the minimum $15 per hour, you know how long it will take you to get what this man is getting in three years — 525 years. If you are getting basic pay, it means we all will be dead and gone by that time and we will never make that money."

Supporters cheered as she said, "Some people might say he is a scamp, I would not say that, but you know what it is, it is greed. It is a greedy Faris. It is pure greed."

Persad-Bissessar used several derogatory adjectives to refer to Dr Keith Rowley and his administration.

On the issue of the closure of the Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery last year, she said the Government wiped-out the oil industry and put hundreds of people in the south-east area out of jobs. "They took your money and the bought millions of dollars in fake oil from their friend. The only reason they shut down Petrotrin was to hide what happened with the fake oil. The only thing that is fake is this Government, it is a wicked, useless government and we have to move them out."

She accused the Government of having the "Blame Kamla Syndrome" when faced with an issue.

Repeatedly Persad-Bissessar accused Rowley of neglecting Mayaro and other constituencies.

"Mr Rowley said east Trinidad was behind God’s back and the communities neglected, and again with the Blame Kamla Syndrome. But that fella forget something. It is true that there is a lack of adequate infrastructure but it also true that the PNM spent 42 out of our 57 years in Government (sic)," Persad-Bissessar said.

She itemised several pledges to the supporters once the UNC is re-elected to Government, one of which was to construct the proposed Mayaro to San Fernando highway. She highlighted tourism plans which included making the Nariva Swamp the number one eco-tourism site in the Caribbean.

"It is a beautiful swamp, very underutilised, it has tremendous potentials. We will invite the private sector to invest to establish a world-class eco-tourism facility in that Nariva Swamp. Save the swamp, save the environment and make money from that project."

Another pledge was to upgrade the Edward Trace in Basse Terre Village in Moruga to a major road to connect Guayguayare to Moruga. This upgrade, she said, will provide access to the south-east coastline where first class beaches can be developed. This area has some of the most beautiful beaches, rivers, springs, hiking trails and forest in the country, Persad-Bissessar told the supporters.

She also identified agricultural projects as a means of development saying that people were moving away from industrial farms because they wanted to know where their foods were coming from and how it was being grown.

She said one of the first projects her government would undertake if elected was the expansion of the Galeota port.