(Trinidad Express) A full report on the Prime Minister’s state visit to India will soon be submitted to Parliament.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar said she would account for the mission and achievements of the visit, as well as the cost and the number of people who participated as members of the Trinidad and Tobago delegation.
“Each time we travel, we have reported and indicated what we will do, and on our return, we have been accounting to the people through Parliament and media briefings.
“When Parliament sits, we will continue with good governance measures to report to you all,” said Persad-Bissessar, speaking at a media conference in the VIP Lounge at Piarco International Airport on her return to Trinidad yesterday evening.
She said she did not know exactly how many people were part of the mission because she did not see everyone, but added that the report will be put together and submitted as soon as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry returned.
Persad-Bissessar was scheduled to return to Trinidad at 4.30 p.m. on a British Airways flight out of London, via St Lucia, but arrived at 5.45 p.m. Some Cabinet members had taken an alternative route through New York and had not yet arrived.
Persad-Bissessar gave an overview of the achievements of the trip, which, she said, included 200 meetings, the signing of 50 memoranda of understanding and 50 joint trade meetings.
Defending the duration of the 12-day trip, she said much of the time was spent in travel, with four days allotted for flight time alone.
Persad-Bissessar also made a statement on the widely debated Senior Counsel issue, saying the green paper suggested by the Attorney General should shed some light on the way forward.
She added that she “respected” the decision of Chief Justice Ivor Archie and Justice of Appeal Wendell Kangaloo to return their instruments. “Some of the commentators are very learned gentlemen of the legal profession who indicated they felt it was a conflict of interest for these judges to have accepted it. The judges took a decision and we respect that decision. But as far as I am advised—and I am advised because I wasn’t here—there are only two persons calling for the removal of the silk, the Opposition leader and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC.
“But it is most interesting that many of the people who are making the most noise gave themselves silk in the first place and there was no noise. What is even more important is that should you take that route, then it means that every person who received silk under those criteria for the past 50 years, are you then saying they should all give it back? And I think the answer to that is no,” she said.
She responded to the Opposition leader’s allegations of the Commissioner of Police being too involved with the Government, saying there was nothing further from the truth.
Persad-Bissessar was critical of Keith Rowley’s statements, and had harsh words for the previous administration’s handling of the crime situation, accusing Rowley of “mischief”.
“The (PNM) has absolutely no authority to speak on (these) matters. They have interfered in every single way with the Police Service.
“In answer to the mischief being created by (Rowley), my answer is what you’re doing is each time you speak is condemning the very administration to which you belong,” she said.
