Road Map to Recovery working document not for Parliament

THE Prime Minister said a working documeant being used to help the Road Map to Recovery Team, to guide its strategies to re-open TT post-covid 19, will not be laid in Parliament. But Dr Rowley did not rule out the possibility of the team’s final report being laid in Parliament at the appropriate time.

Rowley announced the establishment of the team at a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on April16. He is the chairman of the 22 -member team.

Responding to a question in the House of Representatives on Wednesday from Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie, Rowley said economist Professor Karl Theodore was commissioned by the Finance Ministry to do an initial assessment of TT’s economic situation with respect to covid19.

He explained the document is a working document which forms part of the team’s work.

Tewarie suggested the document should be laid in Parliament. While he agreed the document was important, Rowley said it is forming the basis of further analysis and discussion with the national community.

Against this background, “I eventually presume and I expect will be before this Parliament.”

Until that happens, Rowley said,

“So I see no need at this stage to provide working documents to the Parliament so that my colleagues on the other side could say and take it and say it was this and it wasn’t that.”

He added that if the Opposition was serious about contributing to the national response to covid19, it should not have tried to deny him the opportunity to speak in Parliament about covid19 on March13. On March 13, Government moved a motion to waive the House’s Standing Orders, to allow Rowley to make his statement about covid19.

Rowley claimed the Opposition’s attempt to get this document laid in Parliament was “premature and partially mischievous.” Tewarie insisted there was “no mischievous intent” when he asked his question. ‘”That’s my opinion,” Rowley replied.

Rowley also said 2,122 people were processed for income support and relief grants, grants for 2,000 people will be processed by the end of this week and “we will continue to increase it as we go forward.” Rowley said assistance to small and medium businesses for rental payments is still being considered.