By Sue-Ann Wayow
PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley has further ignored the sufferings of the people of Trinidad and Tobago by using his Budget speech to talk about the grand party he attended last weekend.
And he and the board of Angostura Ltd must apologise to the nation for allegedly wasting taxpayers’ dollars on a lavish party held mere days after the Budget was announced.
This is coming from Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
In a media release on Wednesday, she stated, “In a most evil act of provocation toward the poor and working class, Keith Rowley used his speaking time in the budget debate yesterday to support the lavish taxpayer-funded party for himself and his wealthy friends at Mille Fleurs. This is after he and his ministers insulted and humiliated citizens over the last nine days in defence of his most evil budget.”
Dr Rowley spoke on the last day of the Budget debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. The Opposition Members of Parliament all voted that the Budget not be read a second time and it is now before the Standing Finance Committee.
Dr Rowley was the feature speaker at the closing ceremony for the five-week Patriotism exhibition at Mille Fleurs, hosted by Angostura Ltd featuring private art collections.
Persad-Bissessar said, “Rowley’s wasteful taxpayer-funded party at Mille Fleurs showed a clear detachment from the suffering of citizens. The scene during his speech on the balcony of Mille Fleurs was genuinely reminiscent of the colonial days when a detached from reality tyrannical dictator addressed his wealthy collaborators.”
The Opposition Leader had issued a release on Monday which initially stated that Dr Rowley hosted the celebration.
Angostura subsequently issued a release stating that Dr Rowley was a guest at a private celebration.
However, Persad-Bissessar in her Wednesday’s media release said, “The people and taxpayers of Trinidad and Tobago are the majority owners of Angostura through shares acquired by the GORTT due to the state bailout of the CL Financial Group. The government used twenty-three billion in taxpayers’ dollars for this bailout.”
The board of Angostura was appointed with approval from the Cabinet and consists of Alana Beaubrun, Fabio di Giammarco, Ingrid Lashley, Sterling Frost, Franka Costelloe, Maryam Abdool-Richards and Terrence Bharath.
“None of these directors paid a single dollar of their own money toward this so-called private party. This board knows that every dollar of Angostura’s funds used in this shamelessly lavish party for Rowley and his wealthy friends is a dollar less, going toward profit and thus to the Trinidad and Tobago taxpayer,” Persad-Bissessar stated.
She said, “While Rowley and his equally detached from reality collaborators at Angostura use taxpayer money for opulent partying, the poor and working-class continue to be insulted, humiliated and abused. The government and the Angostura board must apologize to citizens for this waste of taxpayer money!”
