UNC gives Rowley administration failing grade on election anniversary

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has given a failing grade to Dr Keith Rowley's administration on the first anniversary of the second term of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government.

On August 10, 2020, the PNM was given another mandate to govern by winning 22 of the 41 seats in the Parliament. The United National Congress (UNC) secured 19 seats.

“Six years he has been in power and what do they have to show for it?” Persad-Bissessar asked from her party’s Virtual Report platform on Monday night.

“I'll tell you. They have left us with the highest level of unemployment, highest level of poverty, highest level of crime, highest level of inequality. This is their legacy after six years.”

She said because of this Government’s disastrous assault on the education sector, “a generation of young people have been left behind.

“The Prime Minister has been touting the fact they are going to open back schools in September, that he was going to get the vaccine to give to children.

"But we are already almost midway into August, and if you are to reopen those schools in September – you can’t do it.”

She explained, “because if you have to give two doses of the vaccines to the children, then how are you going to get this done before September?

"You cannot believe a word that they say.”

Observing there were many schoolchildrenwithout electronic devices for online education, well over a year into the pandemic, she said had Government continued the People’s Partnership (PP) laptop programme, this would not be the case.

She waded into the legacy of debt the Rowley administration has incurred since 2015 without, she claimed, proper accountability.

“Since 2015 Rowley and (Finance Minister Colm) Imbert have spent almost US$6 billion of our savings. That is about TT$42 billion and I cannot see for the life of me where the money has gone.

“What do they have to show for it? Where did that money go?” she asked. “They are only prepared to tax, tax, tax and borrow, borrow, borrow."

She showed a video of Rowley acknowledging the money left in the bank by the PP in 2015 which she said has seen this Government through its challenging times.

In this context she defended former Central Bank governor Jawala Rambarran, saying that with the help of “some cohorts in the mainstream and social media they (PNM Government) lied and tarnished Jawala in order to fire him. “

In spite of the money left in the bank, she charged that Rowley’s mismanagement over the last six years had " destroyed all our income streams and saddled our nation with even more debt. “

“Look at the state of our energy sector today – in shambles. Look at how many businesses are closing up shop and leaving. When these businesses close and leave, they go with the jobs they created.

“Look at the way they have decimated the small and medium-sized business sector in less than a year. They have squeezed the middle class dry.

“People have just lost confidence in our economy, all because of the complete mismanagement by this PNM,” she contended.“Everything Keith Rowley and Colm Imbert touches turns to dust and ash. Try as they might to spin it, the reality we are facing is a bleak future.”

She quoted economist Dr Ralph Henry as saying he feels strongly that “real hell” is up ahead.

While acknowledging that covid19 has taken a mental and economic toll for the last 17 months, she dismissed: “the PNM’s false narrative that they have carefully crafted that everything going wrong with the economy today is because of covid.

“They want people to believe this so badly because that way they get no blame. They get a free pass.

"But it was their poor decisions, utter lack of vision, incompetence and their lust for power that have us where we are today. The economy crashed long before covid.”

She said Central Bank Governor Alvin Hilaire’s position that all is well is just propaganda.

“Where is the plan for diversification, innovation – anything to improve the business environment and encourage investment?”, she asked, criticising the planned reopening of the retail sector on August 16, without, she argued, any real measure being announced on how to get this sector going again.