By Sue-Ann Wayow
PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley is attempting to stigmatise the borough of Chaguanas by singling it out in Parliament on Friday as a hub for illegal sexual activity.
He should apologise to the burgesses for his remarks.
This is according to Members of Parliament for two constituencies in Central Trinidad.
MP for Chaguanas East Vandana Mohit told AZPNews.com, “If the Prime Minister has information about prostitution in Chaguanas, as Head of the National Security Council he has a duty to inform the police. There are many Venezuelans living in Chaguanas just like they are living everywhere in Trinidad. There are many Venezuelans living in Carenage so why single out Chaguanas?”
Also referring to Ariapita Avenue in Port-of-Spain, Mohit said that there were also many Venezuelans living and working in that area.
She asked, “Are the Venezuelans in Chaguanas different from any other Venezuelans living in Trinidad?”
Mohit said, “If the PM is reading from a document that originated from Venezuela about gender and crime in Trinidad . It is an indictment on his administration.”
And MP for Caroni East Dr Rishad Seecheran in a press release on Friday said that Dr Rowley was just attempting to deflect from a non-performing Minister of National Security charged with the responsibility of clamping down on the illicit sex trade.
He said, “The Prime Minister also sought to cast aspersions on the citizens of the Chaguanas Borough, who have been besieged by crime under his administration. Earlier in the pandemic, the residents of Central Trinidad were labelled by officials of the Ministry of Health as fuelling the spread of Covid-19.
“Instead of blaming the Maduro dictatorship for the hardships that have caused millions to flee Venezuela, Prime Minister Rowley focused blame on the Borough of Chaguanas.”
Dr Seecheran referring to Venezuela’s ills said that as of October 2021, a combination of violence, insecurity and a lack of food, medicine, and other services, resulted in more than 5.9 million Venezuelans having to flee the country, creating one of the largest displacement crises in the world with more than 80% fleeing to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, with Colombia and Peru home to the majority.
He said, “I call on the Prime Minister to apologize to the people of the Borough of Chaguanas and by extension the entire nation. Trinidad and Tobago deserves better than that PM Rowley.”
In Parliament on Friday, Dr Rowley quoting from a recent Venezuelan report Gender and Crimes read, “Some stay in the south while others head to the north and the central region many to the borough of Chaguanas where the demand for prostitute thrives.”
