Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 11:28

Prime Minister to resign on March 16

SEAN DOUGLAS AND JOEY BARTLETT ON March 16, the Prime Minister will step down, paving the way for Energy Minister Stuart Young to assume office as the new Prime Minister. Dr Rowley had previously delivered his swan song, but he made the official announcement during a speech on February 26 at the Ministry of Works and Transport in Arima commissioning of the O’Meara Road upgrade project, which has now been renamed the Lisa Morris-Julian Boulevard. “I too am ending my tenure in public service, thankfully not with sadness but with a certain amount of satisfaction. Many people in public life do not believe or forget your service in public life is for a period. It doesn’t matter how good or how important you think you are: it’s all about a specific period.” Reflecting on challenges he encountered during his tenure, particularly in managing national projects, he spoke on the difficulty of overseeing such initiatives with limited resources. Rowley said the national budgetary process often falls short, as there is never enough funding to accomplish all projects. “The national budgetary process is one where there is never enough when you want to do them at the same time.” He compared governance to a conveyor belt, saying as one project is completed, another begins. “The conveyor belt keeps pushing these challenges to you, and as it comes forward, the Cabinet, with limited resources. We have to do some, leave some for later and come back to them, but it’s a continuous process.” Before his announcement, Rowley said the Central Block of Port of Spain General Hospital would be officially opened on March 10. He described the project as one that is particularly meaningful to him and one he is deeply passionate about. The Central Block construction project began in 2019 with an official sod-turning ceremony. It is part of a larger initiative to enhance healthcare delivery and efficient hospital facilities. Work on the project was temporarily halted owing to the covid19 pandemic construction resumed in 2022. The new Central Block will be integrated into the existing hospital campus, expanding health-care services provided by the North West Regional Health Authority. It will have a 540-bed capacity. Additionally, the day before his resignation, on March 15, Rowley will open the new ANR Robinson Airport. This project began in 2020, and the airport was originally commissioned in December 1940. Young to be next PM To transition from the leadership of Rowley to Energy Minister Stuart Young, the Government has opted to first transfer the title of Prime Minister, then call a general election, surely with the calculation that a sweeping victory for Young at the polls would earn automatic nod from the PNM faithful to ascend to party leadership. While the first method set down in the TT Constitution says the PM is the person who leads the party commanding a majority of MPs in the House of Representatives, the elevation of Young will instead rely on the second method set down, that is, the person commanding support of most MPs. The Constitution says that if it appears to the President that the (majority) party does not have an undisputed leader in that House or that no party commands the support of such a majority, the President shall appoint “the member of the House of Representatives who, in his judgement, is most likely to command the support of the majority of members of that House, and who is willing to accept the office of Prime Minister. (Section 76 (1)(b)).” Newsday via WhatsApp asked Young what his priorities would be for his first few days in office such as choosing a new Cabinet, or championing any new legislation, policy or budgetary allocation, but to date he had not replied. It is uncertain whether it will be Rowley or Young who will call the election date. Rowley’s Diego Martin West constituency executive has approved broadcaster Hans Des Vignes as its prospective candidate to replace Rowley as MP. Meanwhile Young has been busy preparing the groundwork for his ascent by not only his political duties as a minister, MP in Port of Spain North/St Ann’s West, and PNM chairman at screenings held regularly at Balisier House, but has also been seen at myriad Carnival events including pushing pans on the Drag at Panorama. At a constituency cocktail reception on February 1 at Diego Martin South Community Centre, Rowley said how much he was looking forward to retirement including having no schedule, while confident he was leaving the country in good hands politically. At a PNM media mix and mingle at Balisier House, Port of Spain, on January 15, Rowley had thanked reporters for their work, saying, “I won’t be talking to you a lot in the not-too-distant future. So I hope you don’t forget me.” He had hinted at his “swan-song” during his budget speech last October when he empathised with incumbent Mayaro MP Rushton Paray. Rowley had said, “I am now in my tenth year as Prime Minister. I, too, may be a swan. But I’ll leave here with my head held high. “I don’t know how much longer I will have in this Parliament, but I have done my duty. I have kept the course. I have run the race, and I look forward not for a pot of gold but for my family at the end of this rainbow.” Rowley first announced his intention to step down as PM during a press conference on January 3. On January 6, he named Young as his successor. Rowley, who will turn 76 in October, has served 45 years in public life. Rowley will demit office with a healthy prime ministerial pension and back-pay. He will benefit from a recent hike in the salaries of some public officials proposed by the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) whose recommendations he accepted. The PM’s monthly salary will rise from $59,000 to $87,000. Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, in a statement later, claimed Rowley leaves a lousy legacy from which TT will have to rebuild itself. She alleged Rowley’s exit was not about riding off into the sunset but “fleeing the mess he created” by his dealings with the Venezuelan Government, which she harshly disparaged (as “dictatorial, kleptocratic, drug-trafficking.”) “His hand-picked successor, Minister Young, who worked as the facilitator of these deals, will soon face the same punitive fate as Rowley,” she hit. “With his retirement coinciding with the eleventh-hour suspicious sale of the Petrotrin refinery to a company internationally flagged for corruption, Rowley seems to be setting the groundwork to flee the country and the coming legal repercussions of his Venezuelan dealings.” She said Rowley was ending a destructive near-decade tenure as Prime Minister with a legacy of woeful failures that ruined people’s quality of life.   About Dr Keith Rowley Here are some highlights of Dr Rowley's 45 years in public life: Enters politics in 1981, unsuccessfully contests Tobago West seat in that year's general election. Opposition Senator from 1987-1990. First elected Diego Martin West MP in 1991. Agriculture Minister – January 13, 1992-Oct 6, 1995. Planning and Development Minister – December 2001-November 2003. Housing Minister – November 2003-November 2007. Accused in 2003 of having material moved from the Scarborough Hospital Project to the Landate private housing development project in Mason Hall, Tobago. Subsequently cleared of all claims and allegations. Trade and Industry Minister – November 2007-April 2008. Fired from Cabinet in April 2008, by then prime minister Patrick Manning over concerns about corruption at Udecott and for allegedly engaging in "wajang behaviour." September 2004 – Accused of being involved in a "teacup" brawl in Parliament's lounge with then UNC MP Chandresh Sharma. May 2010 – Opposition Leader after PNM's defeat in that year's election. Later elected PNM political leader. September 2015 – Elected prime minister. August 2020 – Re-elected prime minister. January 2025 – Announces retirement from electoral politics. The post Prime Minister to resign on March 16 appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.