(Trinidad Express) Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley has slammed the People’s Partnership administration for doing all in its power, including misusing taxpayer dollars and the country’s Coat of Arms for political advertisements, to deflect attention from a motion that has been described as “frivolous and vexatious”.
Rowley was speaking to members of the media before the PNM embarked on a walkabout along St John Road in St Augustine yesterday.
Rowley was yesterday nursing a sore throat which he said he hoped would be better in time for the marathon debate of the no-confidence motion which is scheduled to begin in Parliament tomorrow.
Three Wednesdays ago Rowley filed a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
In the motion Rowley refers to the Prime Minister’s “gross incompetence”, the government’s failure to stimulate the economy as well as the inability to effectively manage officers under the Prime Minister’s control.
Asked whether he felt the government was using taxpayer dollars to fund its attempt to garner support for Persad-Bissessar, Rowley responded:
“Obviously. It is obvious that these payments are coming, many of them. You even have developments where the country’s Coat of Arms is being used on political advertisements for the government in its attempt to explain its political position about its stewardship.
“These are developments which we have not had before and it is the government desperately trying to deflect attention from a motion that it has described as frivolous and vexatious. But so frivolous that it has called out the cavalry to respond.”
What made the situation worse, Rowley said, was that Persad-Bissessar had been vocal about alleged misuse of taxpayers money by the PNM for political advertising in the build-up to the 2010 general elections.
“You must cast your mind back to 2010 when this same people led by this same person who is the Prime Minister had a lot to say about taxpayers monies being used for political advertisements. That is all I will say on that. The population has seen them then and sees them now and come to your own conclusions,” Rowley said.
Rowley said the purpose of the no-confidence motion was to educate the population and highlight the fact that the government is “not to be trusted and not to be believed”.
“We are absolutely convinced that at the end of the debate the population of Trinidad and Tobago will be better informed and an informed population is in a better position to determine if its business is being properly handled,” he said.
Rowley said the PNM had a structured plan of attack for the debate.
“I would like to believe that we are a serious people, a motion of no confidence has been filed in the Parliament and I expect that there would be enough people in this country to understand what that means, in so far as there are persons who don’t understand it we try our best to educate the population and to indicate to them that this is part of the Parliamentary process where the government of the day is held accountable, brought before the people to account for its stewardship on specific or general actions,” he said.
“We will be raising a number of things but I don’t think the population is unintelligent or unaware of what the government is doing and all I am asking the population to do is pay attention to what the governing cabal is doing and this is just one of the actions,” Rowley said.
Rowley yesterday chastised the government for questioning his leadership of the PNM.
“I think my leadership of the PNM is a matter for the PNM members and supporters and I do not know that they have a problem. If the government UNC faction wants to conduct PNM business for the PNM they are welcome,” he said.
Rowley yesterday described as “too foolish to warrant a response” some of the statements made by Persad-Bissessar and members of the government in the build up to tomorrow’s debate.
Yesterday’s PNM walkabout experienced a hiccup as the use of a music truck hired for the event had not been authorised by the police.
The walk ended with a political meeting at the St Augustine Secondary School.
