By Sue-Ann Wayow
PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley has admitted that the State of Emergency (SoE) instituted in Trinidad and Tobago for the past six months has failed, says Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
In a statement on Wednesday after the SoE was dissolved in Parliament, Persad-Bissessar said the Prime Minister finally conceded to what the Opposition was saying all along concerning the irrelevance of the SoE.
She said, “In a sheer act of desperation, Rowley actually admitted that his SoE was harmful to businesses, the overall wellbeing of the country and therefore needed to end immediately. Ironically these were precisely the arguments that the Opposition made on multiple occasions, against Rowley’s SoE.”
She said now, even after the SoE, crime and Covid-19 have increased drastically.
“After months of Rowley’s SOE, the nation is far less safe and far less stable,” Persad-Bissessar said.
She claims that the only reason Dr Rowley is removing the SoE a few days before its expiration on November 30 is because of his desperation to campaign, given the People’s National Movement (PNM) low ratings in Tobago in the run-up to the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections.
In Parliament on Wednesday, Dr Rowley said the SoE first implemented in May was a desperate measure to combat Covid-19 especially with the uncertainty of readily available vaccines and it was the final measure in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.
With 45% of the population being vaccinated, and persons getting adjusted to life in a pandemic, the Prime Minister said there was no longer the need for the SoE but also admitted that the government was aware it will get no support from the Opposition for any further extension.
He denied the SoE was removed so the PNM could campaign since no canvassing took place in the night.
