(Trinidad Guardian) Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley went on the offensive in San Fernando on Monday night, telling Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar that the number of children he has inside and outside of his marriage “is none of her god-damned business.”
Rowley told a Local Government elections campaign meeting in Cocoyea Village: “As long as Sharon, (his wife) is happy with how much I have outside and how much I have inside, then Rowley is happy with that. At least what I had outside and what I have inside, they escaped and they are alive.”
The tit-for-tat on the campaign trail got personal when earlier this week, Rowley described Persad-Bissessar as an embarrassment when she claimed the wives of some PNM Government Minister were benefiting from multi-million dollar contracts.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert has threatened to sue Persad-Bissessar over her comments.
At a meeting in Freeport on Tuesday night, Persad-Bissessar fired back at Rowley’s criticism of her, saying he was the embarrassment.
“I don’t think there is any greater embarrassment for a person who have more children outside than inside,” Persad-Bissessar retorted in reference to Rowley’s two sons from previous relationship, Garth Alleyne, whom the People’s Partnership made public in March 2015 and the other, Christopher Barthol, who the public became aware of, via a family photograph issued by the Office of the Prime Minister after this year’s Emancipation celebrations.
Accusing her of rolling out five of the largest record-breaking budgets in the last five years, Rowley told PNM supporters that just one year after leaving office, she had nothing useful to say about local development or reform that was why she was focusing on personal issues.
Also making his début on a PNM platform was Rural Development and Local Government Minister, Kazim Hosein, as the PNM introduced its nine candidates who are seeking to become councillors on the San Fernando City Corporation.
Rowley dubbed the former San Fernando Mayor the clean-up man, after Hosein told supporters his first job was as a cleaner at the San Fernando East constituency office.
Hosein said every morning before he went to school at Naparima College, he would walk with his bucket, mop and (Guardian) newspaper to clean the toilets, floors and windows. As mayor he also embarked on a clean-up campaign to rid the city of garbage, derelict vehicles on the streets as well as abandoned lots.
“My first job was as a cleaner and last job would be as a cleaner because I intend to clean up Trinidad just as I did in San Fernando,” Hosein added.
