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Kamla Urges caution- Let good sense prevail
Posted On 28 Aug 2018
In a statement today, Opposition Leader and Political Leader of the United National Congress Mrs Kamla Persad Bissessar, urged the Keith Rowley administration to take a cautious and pragmatic approach to the Petrotrin issue.
How the restructuring of Petrotrin is handled will have immediate and long term effects on the national economy and as such the Government should not pursue the matter in their usual ad hoc manner. The country has already been asked to wait until Sunday for a statement from the Prime Minister on an issue that has gripped the public’s attention for weeks and which has now been compounded by the statement from the Board of Directors, which blatantly ignored the workers, stating that it was cheaper to import fuel that to continue production.
While people have been concerned about massive job losses and how that will impact an already declining economy, we have been forced to endure endless gimmicks by the Government instead of a sober and deliberate message on the state of our affairs.
To embark on a restructuring of Petrotrin, without a detailed and well-articulated roll out plan, but as an ill-conceived attempt of an Administration that has achieved nothing in three years, to claim that they will be our saviours, will be detrimental to our country’s economic viability.
What Trinidad and Tobago needs now is a sensible and cautious approach. We need a Government that cares about the major humanitarian impact any restructuring will have on the people of our country. Change is inevitable, but the Keith Rowley administration has already proven that they are willing to act in a callous and arrogant manner giving little to no thought about how their actions affect the everyday lives of people.
Since the Rowley administration came into power we have seen a rise in the cost of living, thousands of people have lost their jobs and thousands more remain unemployed or underemployed. As more people live in fear of being placed on the breadline and increasing fuel prices, I once again urge caution and hope for good sense to prevail.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, SC, MP
Leader of the Opposition
