AS THE country emerged from the pandemic and its resulting lock downs, job losses and economic stress, Government might have looked forward to an ease-up in their burden but in fact, faced new stresses from the fallout from climate change and a crime upsurge in 2022. And generally in running the country.
The year began with Government facing the wrath of trade unions over a proposed vaccine mandate for public sector workers, to fight the pandemic which has taken over 4,200 lives. But with efforts plateauing at a 51 per cent vaccination rate nationally, salvation came by way of the emergence of the less lethal (albeit more contagious) omicron variant.
Party elections were predictably won by incumbent leaders, quite overwhelmingly, despite low voter turnouts perhaps reflecting some underlying national discontent beneath the virtual duopoly of TT’s race-based version of the Westminster political system. In the PNM elections in December, Dr Rowley comfortably beat challenger Karen Nunez-Tesheira, former finance minister from the Patrick Manning regime. Rowley won 8,424 votes, Nunez-Tesheira got 345 and Junior Barrack, a paltry 99.
[caption id="attachment_992576" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar - File photo[/caption]
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, in June, was re-elected UNC leader, easily defeating her former health minister Dr Fuad Khan. Persad-Bissessar got 11,556 votes to Khan’s 644.
Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh in December dubbed Rowley a “ghost PM” for not visiting flood-hit areas, although playing golf with Sir Viv Richards upon recovery from covid19.
Indarsingh hit, “Now, in this time of national emergency and calamity, the Prime Minster, who bolted to the golf course with speed and fervour, slouches distantly, numbly, and cowardly, peeping from behind the curtains at Whitehall rather than courageously attending to his citizens in their time of crisis.”
Rowley, hit back alleging UNC “flood politics” and “photo-ops.”
“Their idea of caring is to put a hapless leader (Persad-Bissessar) in a little boat and pull her through the flooded street.
“I pass on that. My focus is to be part of the team that is available 24/7 to respond and manage the dangerous changing environment.” A new party, the NTA, was launched by former police commissioner (CoP) Gary Griffith, who reapplied for his old post and is now vying to replace Dr Rowley as Prime Minister.
PDP IMPLODES
After the PDP’s sweep of the THA polls last year against a tired-looking PNM, leader Watson Duke on May 1 held a gala launch of his PDP in Trinidad at the upscale setting of the Hyatt Trinidad with guests wearing all-black clothes, promising needy communities 1,000 loaves of bread per week and an “in touch” style of politics.
He trekked up the hills of Laventille, greeting local youth.
However, within months, he fired Farley Augustine as PDP deputy political leader after a very public spat over a group of Tobago per
