THE Prime Minister declared there is no time for partisan politics or divided societies as countries around the world grapple to overcome the covid19 pandemic. Dr Rowley called upon all citizens to set such political interests aside and unite against the virus, their common enemy, covid19.

"It is now all a matter of Trinidad and Tobago."

In his Indian Arrival Day message to the nation, Rowley declared, "The pandemic has upended societies worldwide, and opened us to the challenges of a whole new world." He said, "It is acknowledged that people choose the direction of their lives, and also how and when to push their worlds and their societies.

"It is now all a matter of individual responsibility, and if we look beyond, we may see the opportunities for change, first, in our individual lives, and the possibilities for wider national socio-economic reform."

TTs future, he continued, "lies in every immigrant group committing to the shaping of a new TT in the post-covid world."

He declared, "No one should retreat inwardly at this moment, but, instead, go beyond the narrow-mindedness of individual self-interest and identity politics. At this point, this state cannot constitute a divided society, for there is a common enemy out there."

Rowley said, "The mindset of every citizen, without surrendering ancestral strengths, should be: 'I reject partisanship and accept, above all, my personal responsibilities to my nation.'"

He warned, "To do otherwise is to perpetuate victimhood and finger-pointing, causing us all to become protagonists and antagonists in our nation’s unfolding tragedy. It is now all a matter of TT."

While the 176th anniversary of the arrival of the first indentured, East Indian labourers in TT, cannot be celebrated in the way people are accustomed to doing because of covid19, Rowley said now is a time for citizens to hold steadfast to "their centuries-old customs and values, including entrepreneurship and thrift" which served them and their descendants well and contributed to building the cosmopolitan society that is TT."

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