Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is the only prime minister that is also, in his own admission, an astute businessman that allegedly derives an income from his farm in Tobago as well as a salary from being the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
He’s also very defensive and sometimes downright offensive when inquiries are made into his friends who are businessmen.
However, when the shoe is on the other foot, he accuses every contractor “friend“ of the Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar of being corrupt and receiving preferential contracts due to their connection.
Further, he allegedly accused other members of her former cabinet of being the most corrupt Members of Parliament that we in T&T have ever seen.
He has in the past allegedly inferred that because a contractor was known to the opposition leader at the time of award during her tenure as the prime minister, that there was corruption involved in the award of these contracts.
How can this be so one-sided, when any contractor who Dr Rowley admits is his friend and they receive contracts under his tenure, he can declare it was given above board.
No corruption, no collusion, no inducement, no enticement of any kind or anything of that nature was conceivable when the award of those contracts was given out.
Alternatively in the case of the opposition leader’s that’s exactly what occurred, corruption, collusion and nepotism are what he allegedly declares on how these contracts were awarded.
Even when in the case of the Tobago Villas, the Inez Gate development in Tobago where he allegedly gets the villa at a significantly preferential price of approximately $500,000 off the original price, he is boldfaced enough to dismiss the issue.
Moreso for his daughter to get a similar deal. In his usual style of in-your-face politricking, he claimed he always acts responsibly in anything he does and expects any right-thinking citizen to turn a blind eye to his naked acts of conducting the people’s business to benefit himself and his family.
Within the backdrop of our country that appears to be astonished by his bravado and in the absence of campaign reform and transparency in campaign financing Mr Rowley does not have the moral authority to talk about corruption.
In the recent Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections where we saw the total annihilation of the PNM, the people of Tobago rejected the PNM that has run the affairs of Tobago for the last 21 years.
After the just concluded THA elections, what is clear is that the PNM election campaign shows that there was certainly millions of dollars to spend night after night at primetime to cover the cost of political messages on all the major TV stations and we must ask where those funds came from.
Were they from contractors who benefitted from government contracts under the PNM administration? This question must not be left unanswered now as the people of Tobago have sent a clear message that the old guards must answer to the people and it is no longer business as usual.
The PNM must be held accountable for their open politricking and expenditure on the advertisement campaigns for the THA elections.
We must call for an inquiry and audit – a full comprehensive audit into the expenditure of the THA under the PNM administration as well as the expenditure leading up to the elections in Tobago.
Questions must be asked where and from whom these funds came from.
Remind me again where all that money came from, remind me which BBQ was that again?
(Neil Gosine is an insurance executive, the North East Regional Coordinator of the United National Congress and a former chairman of NP. The comments and opinions expressed by him in this column are not necessarily those of AZPNews.com, a division of Complete Image Limited.)
Commentary: Which BBQ Again?
By Neil Gosine
REMIND me which BBQ was that again?
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is the only prime minister that is also, in his own admission, an astute businessman that allegedly derives an income from his farm in Tobago as well as a salary from being the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
He’s also very defensive and sometimes downright offensive when inquiries are made into his friends who are businessmen.
However, when the shoe is on the other foot, he accuses every contractor “friend“ of the Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar of being corrupt and receiving preferential contracts due to their connection.
Further, he allegedly accused other members of her former cabinet of being the most corrupt Members of Parliament that we in T&T have ever seen.
He has in the past allegedly inferred that because a contractor was known to the opposition leader at the time of award during her tenure as the prime minister, that there was corruption involved in the award of these contracts.
How can this be so one-sided, when any contractor who Dr Rowley admits is his friend and they receive contracts under his tenure, he can declare it was given above board.
No corruption, no collusion, no inducement, no enticement of any kind or anything of that nature was conceivable when the award of those contracts was given out.
Alternatively in the case of the opposition leader’s that’s exactly what occurred, corruption, collusion and nepotism are what he allegedly declares on how these contracts were awarded.
Even when in the case of the Tobago Villas, the Inez Gate development in Tobago where he allegedly gets the villa at a significantly preferential price of approximately $500,000 off the original price, he is boldfaced enough to dismiss the issue.
Moreso for his daughter to get a similar deal. In his usual style of in-your-face politricking, he claimed he always acts responsibly in anything he does and expects any right-thinking citizen to turn a blind eye to his naked acts of conducting the people’s business to benefit himself and his family.
Within the backdrop of our country that appears to be astonished by his bravado and in the absence of campaign reform and transparency in campaign financing Mr Rowley does not have the moral authority to talk about corruption.
In the recent Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections where we saw the total annihilation of the PNM, the people of Tobago rejected the PNM that has run the affairs of Tobago for the last 21 years.
After the just concluded THA elections, what is clear is that the PNM election campaign shows that there was certainly millions of dollars to spend night after night at primetime to cover the cost of political messages on all the major TV stations and we must ask where those funds came from.
Were they from contractors who benefitted from government contracts under the PNM administration? This question must not be left unanswered now as the people of Tobago have sent a clear message that the old guards must answer to the people and it is no longer business as usual.
The PNM must be held accountable for their open politricking and expenditure on the advertisement campaigns for the THA elections.
We must call for an inquiry and audit – a full comprehensive audit into the expenditure of the THA under the PNM administration as well as the expenditure leading up to the elections in Tobago.
Questions must be asked where and from whom these funds came from.
Remind me again where all that money came from, remind me which BBQ was that again?
(Neil Gosine is an insurance executive, the North East Regional Coordinator of the United National Congress and a former chairman of NP. The comments and opinions expressed by him in this column are not necessarily those of AZPNews.com, a division of Complete Image Limited.)