Rowley back home after Commonwealth meeting in Samoa

THE Prime Minister returned to Trinidad on October 28, after his week-long visit to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on its Facebook page at 1.39 pm on October 28 briefly said, "Prime Minister Dr the Hon Keith Rowley has returned from Samoa where he led a delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting."

The statement gave no other details as to his activities upon returning to Trinidad and Tobago, such as whether he will attend the Divali Nagar on October 30 where his counterpart Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar's speech on October 26 was not broadcast live on TTT due to "technical problems." The opposition has alleged political bias, while the government accused the opposition of trying to politicise the issue.

While Rowley was away, he participated in formal talks with other leaders on topics such as trade and climate resilience. He and other Caricom leaders defied a call to not discuss the issue of transatlantic slavery reparations, but did do so.

However the summit's final communiqué had just a watered-down reference to reparations, reflecting a British stance that the past is the past.

While abroad, Rowley via Facebook cited a picture of Indian business magnate Navin Jindal in the report by Commonwealth chairman Baroness Patricia Scotland, to argue that the opposition had no right to attack Jindal, recently in TT to consider a bid of the mothballed refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre.

Also while in Samoa, Rowley turned 75, having recently told Parliament he may be singing his swan song and fuelling speculation as to his possible successors. Newsday tried to find out what Rowley was up to since returning but our inquiries via WhatsApp got no replies from either the PM or Communications Minister Symon de Nobriga.