Government’s two-day retreat ends

The government ended its two-day retreat at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's on Wednesday, but there was no official statement of any kind about what was discussed or if any decisions were taken.

Efforts to contact the Prime Minister and other Cabinet ministers were unsuccessful. But two government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said none of the issues being speculated about in a recent media reports, such as a possible Cabinet reshuffle, were discussed.

The first official said, "It (the retreat) was simply a management exercise conducted by the Prime Minister." Another said the purpose of the retreat was "to bring the team together so we could share the work being done, the positive experiences and challenges."

Newsday was told that each day of the retreat was split in halves. The first half of the day involved meetings with Cabinet ministers, and there were meetings with other parliamentarians in the second half.

Photos posted by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on its Facebook page on Tuesday showed Dr Rowley chairing one of the meetings.

Rowley was seated at one table while other government ministers were seated at surrounding tables. They were all masked and well spaced.

Large plasma screen televisions were placed in the middle of the room, giving the participants a 360 degree look at whatever was being shown.

One photo showed Rowley talking with Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne, Communications Minister Symon de Nobriga, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Energy Minister Stuart Young, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh.