UNC to target Speaker

PORT OF SPAIN

■Stories by Anna Ramdass

anna.ramdass@trinidadexpress.com

PRIME MINISTER Dr Keith Rowley suffered a 'full public meltdown' and his 'blame Kamla' rhetoric is no surprise.

So said Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar who defended the Opposition's walkout of the Parliament on Tuesday and boycott of the House sitting yesterday.

She said the Rowley Government abused its privilege and the Opposition will move a motion of no confidence in House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George.

The former prime minister held a news conference at her Port of Spain office yesterday where she reiterated the Government's abuse of parliamentary standing orders and accused Rowley of hijacking the debate.

'After being exposed in front of the entire nation as a liar, Keith Rowley had a full public meltdown today,' she said.

'Even though the evidence is clear that Rowley breached the rules of the Parliament by running roughshod over the Standing Orders, he still bizarrely insists he did no wrong,' she stated in a release issued after Rowley held his news conference yesterday.

'Rowley needs to end his creepy obsession with me and devote more time to listening to the people of Tobago and Trinidad on what they want. Thousands of people remain without jobs, without an income, and without food yet the Prime Minister sees no need to present a plan for how the nation can deal with this crisis we are in.

'Trinidad and Tobago desperately needs leadership that is capable, competent and of sound mind,' she hit back.

On Tuesday the Parliament debated the motion to adopt the report of the Joint Select Committee on the Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill, 2020.

Persad-Bissessar led a walkout of the Opposition bench, attributing it to Rowley's breach in wrapping up the debate and speaking for two hours.

At the news conference yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said the Opposition received proposed amendments on the Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill, 2020 and the Tobago Island Bill which she shared with the media.

The documents were dated June 30 and timestamped 2 a.m.

She claimed these amendments intended to 'gut' the Tobago Bills.

Persad-Bissessar said this was one of the reasons the Opposition boycotted yesterday's sitting as a matter of principle.

'It was brought to our knowledge that Government intended to gut out the Bills completely with all the amendments,' she said.

Persad-Bissessar said the amendments leave nothing in the Bill for the people of Tobago and questioned whether this was done to avoid a special majority vote and utilise a simple majority to get the Bills passed with 'spite and malice'.

King Rowley

Persad-Bissessar said the proposed amendments to the Tobago Self-Government Bill will take Tobago back to colonial days.

'They going back to colonial days so King Rowley now wants to make provisions for Tobago together with his courtiers,' she said.

The amendments, she said, will now call the Chief Secretary the Premier and the Deputy Chief Secretary is now to be called the Deputy Chief Secretary.

She noted that before the 1962 Constitution, the Prime Minister was called the Premier-during colonial days.

'The Bills are to make Tobago a colony. We will never agree to that,' she said.

Tobago Island Government Bill Persad-Bissessar said the Tobago Government Island Bill was never laid in the Parliament and was a whole new Bill created without consultation.

She added that under the First Schedule more powers are being taken than given.

She said the legislation effectively takes away power from the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), adding that the amendments seek to remove the THA's power, reducing it to a municipal corporation with only administrative powers.

She said Tobago is back to square one because the Assembly will make laws but it still has to be sent to the Cabinet for approval.

She added that it was 'ludicrous' that Government Minister Camille Robinson- Regis piloted the Tobago Island Bill on Wednesday and the first responder was Attorney General Faris Al- Rawi.

Persad-Bissessar said she was fully prepared to speak on the debate on Tuesday but was pre-empted by Rowley's hijacking the debate and abusing the Standing Orders.

She said given all that transpired she believes the Government never meant to give internal self-government to Tobago.

She reiterated that Government needs to listen to the people of Tobago on how to improve the Bill.

Pointing out that every Government speaker spoke about increased money for Tobago, she said: 'Is it that you want to buy the people of Tobago by telling them we will give you more money?' Motion of no confidence in Speaker Acknowledging that a motion of no confidence in the Speaker will be defeated with Government's majority, Persad-Bissessar however said this action will still be taken to put the issue into the public domain.

She said in the past that the PNM has persistently eroded and disregarded the parliamentary procedures to subject their own will on the people and run from transparency.

She said they have refused urgent questions and even refused to answer Prime Minister questions on the date they are due.

'The PNM continues to abuse and violate our Parliament democracy by ignoring the Standing Orders. I heard the leader of Government business saying that she ceded her time to the Prime Minister. Madam, that is not possible in any standing order or parliamentary process,' she said.

'We intend to file a motion of no confidence in the Speaker of the House of Representatives for flagrant breaches of the Standing Orders in the conduct of parliamentary business,' said Persad-Bissessar.

She also challenged former health minister Fuad Khan to provide evidence in his claim that the Standing Orders were amended during her term in 2015 to give the Government more power in the House, which she dismissed this as 'nonsense'.

Addressing claims that she is absent from Parliament, Persad- Bissessar said Covid regulations in the House dictate that only six Opposition members can be present in the Chamber, so members are rotated.

She noted that she was present at Parliament on Friday, Monday and Tuesday and while she may not be in the Chamber she is in the Opposition's conference room.

ACCUSED PM OF HIJACKING DEBATE: Kamla Persad-Bissessar