Rowley denies Kamla's state-sponsored spying claims

A FIRED-UP Prime Minister Dr Rowley resoundingly dented claims by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar that the Government was spying on key people and institutions in the country, including the judiciary and the media.

Speaking on Tuesday evening at the PNM's public meeting in the Diego Martin South Community centre, Rowley denied Persad-Bissessar's state-sponsored spying claim, made on Monday at the UNC's Virtual Report.

Persad-Bissessar said Rowley's government was engaging in a massive illegal spying ring by monitoring the phones of key members of society.

She said the media, judiciary, business, trade unions, political opponents and even politicians within the PNM were the targets of this spying, done with the help of specially-selected police officers aligned to Government, in order to help Rowley “cling to power.”

“Some time ago, I warned you all about the Rowley government acquiring the Israeli software Pegasus programme to hack into citizens’ WhatsApp communication and other communications.

“Tonight, I can confirm that Government did acquire the software and they have been illegally spying on citizens through various social media platforms, WhatsApp, e-mails,” Persad-Bissessar said on Monday.

She added the information about the spying, as well as names of people being spied on, was furnished by a whistleblower.

The PM dealt with Persad-Bissessar's claims as his first order of business shortly after he took the podium at the meeting on Tuesday evening.

"It was all a lie," Rowley declared.

He told the audience that this was not the first time Persad-Bissessar had made such a claim, reminding that shortly after she came into power in 2010, she claimed  she was being spied on by the police, which led to 20 officers, including the head of the SSA (Strategic Services Agency), Nigel Clement, being fired.

"I must respond as chairman of the National Security Council of TT (to Bissessar) who went behind a screen and tells the world that the government of TT, which I lead, is spying on the entire population...All of a sudden TT is North Korea!

"What are you doing that you are afraid the government would know? If you are a legal, law-abiding citizen you would not have that paranoia. Only criminals have that concern."

He poured scorn on the Opposition for claiming that even members of Government, including former Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi. were being monitored. "Imagine, they are the biggest defenders of Faris," Rowley said.

During the meeting, Rowley also revealed that Government is  revitalising Lake Asphalt of TT Ltd (LATT).

He said the company, funded by the Ministry of Finance, had suffered after the collapse of Petrotrin, since the then state-owned oil company was the major consumer of LATT's bitumen.

"Cabinet has put Lake Asphalt in the Ministry of Works and put a committee in place with NIDCO as the operating agency to create a new business model for Lake Asphalt," he announced.

Earlier, Minister of Youth Development and National Service Foster Cummings and Minister of Finance Colm Imbert, addressed the meeting, giving an overview of the performance and work of their respective ministries.