Persad-Bissessar: SoE has failed, so don't extend it

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, in a statement on Friday, condemned the Prime Minister's move to extend the state of emergency (SoE) for three more months.

The extension will be debated as a government motion in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Needing just a simple majority, the motion will extend the SoE (which is due to end next Sunday) to late November.

In a statement headlined, Rowley’s move to extend the SoE without a data driven explanation is disastrous, she said the SoE had failed and Dr Rowley's move to extend it revealed his alleged bankruptcy of ideas for handling the pandemic.

"The Government keeps insisting they are 'following the science,' yet Rowley’s misguided policies appear to be driven by his desire to be a dictator rather than scientific data.

"It is clear to everyone that objectives of the state of emergency have not been realised, as cases and the death toll from covid19 continue to climb. The SoE has only succeeded in one thing: destroying thousands of jobs by closing down thousands of small and medium-sized businesses."

Persad-Bissessar said Rowley needed to understand that lives and livelihoods were one and the same.

"If the SoE is not saving lives or livelihoods, in whose interest is Rowley acting by further extending these harsh measures? There is no justification for continuing to curtail people’s rights while destroying their livelihoods."

She said Rowley and the PNM's move to extend the SoE displayed "their craven lust for power without accountability."

Persad-Bissessar said, "I call on the Government to abandon this draconian measure and instead focus their efforts on restarting the economy and getting citizens vaccinated."