By Alicia Chamely
PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is looking forward to positive collaboration with the Opposition when it comes to matters of great importance to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
However, given some of their selections for Senate and Opposition Leader Penelope Beckles’ address at the opening of parliament, she remains sceptical.
Addressing the media on Friday outside of the Red House, Port of Spain, after the Ceremonial Opening of the 13th Republican Parliament, Persad-Bissessar said, “We look forward to collaboration, but in our system of Westminster style politics, sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t. We look forward to collaboration where it is necessary and they also see it in the best interest of the people of T&T.”
Questioned as to whether she was “happy” to see some of her former colleagues, now in the Opposition, who did not win their seats return to the Red House in Senate positions, she said, “Am I happy? I am sure they are very happy. It points to me where the Opposition is now going, bringing back persons who have been rejected. Of course that’s okay to bring back into the senate, legally, but they were there for nine years and all their policies and programs they presided over did not help the people of T&T. So being in the Senate, I can’t see that giving them and their party any great life.”
Persad-Bissessar added, “In other words, it is clear that the one percent is still in charge when you look at some of the members of the People’s National Movement (PNM) senators’ bench.”
She questioned whether the Opposition themselves were ready to collaborate in the interest of the people, versus party politics, noting that all members of the PNM were wearing ties with a large Balisier flower on them. She said when the PNM was in government, they had all but “abandoned” these ties, but suddenly they were back.
Persad-Bissessar also took a stab at Beckles address saying, “Given the content of the speech of the Leader of the Opposition, again, it was everything PNM! PNM! PNM!”
She did remain hopeful, however, that when it came to issues affecting the people there would be no vitriol, saying, “In terms of further collaboration I look forward to that. The country desperately needs healing.”
