Kamla: We put people first – Highlights of the Political Leader’s Address

Our beautiful Trinidad and Tobago needs you now more than ever! I also want to acknowledge some of the special visitors with us. We have the hard-working members of the diplomatic corps, the media and the many others who told me that they are coming to observe the proceedings today.

All are welcome in the house of the Rising Sun! There is a seat at our table for everyone. As I stand here, looking out at this massive sea of yellow… this sea of yellow represents progress.  It represents loyal citizens who are ready to roll up their sleeves and WORK.

UNC on the Move

A time when our media, independent commentators and anyone who dares question those in power are abused, shouted down or threatened with being jailed for committing treason; when our strongest and most loyal allies are being turned away in favour of dictators!

In that same amount of time – the Rowley-led Government has been doing what? Absolutely nothing.  No plan.

We said it before, during the 2015 campaign, and it came to pass.

Trinidad and Tobago needs the UNC now more than ever and we must remain focused, disciplined and committed to finding the solutions to the challenges we face as a nation.

Support for the UNC has now grown into new areas of the country and is spreading into towns and villages and communities where we have not been in the past!

Your party been working hard on the ground, meeting our neighbours and listening to their concerns; listening to their hopes and dreams. We are hearing stories of families struggling to make ends meet; of children not having access to medicine in our hospitals, or beds, or life-saving surgery; of persons struggling to access basic services because our institutions have broken down! 

Trinidad and Tobago today feel like it has ground to a halt under an incompetent, lazy and brutal regime. Nothing works. Time has not stood still here, it has in fact rolled back.

We will never stop representing your voice in the Parliament; we will never stop until we get this wicked, corrupt, lazy and incompetent government out of office!

The UNC is working all over Trinidad and Tobago!

We have put coordinators to work in the marginal seats and they have been reaching out to their communities, meeting and listening with people and developing plans for the local community and I urge you to meet your coordinators.

I am putting the Prime Minister on notice – his party no longer has any safe seats in this country!

Committees

We have established SEVERAL committees to develop plans and approaches to recover from this blight on Trinidad and Tobago.  Get involved.  Claim your space. Call your councilor; your alderman; your MP; a Senator; your coordinator; our headquarters.

Call me – I think Devant put my number out there on the internet.  Don’t worry I won’t say you committing treason if you call me. As always you can email me at kamlapb1@gmail.com

The Keith Rowley “Do Nothing” Government

In his fifth month of his fourth year as Prime Minister, Rowley has nothing to show. He would desperately like to get you to ignore your eyes and ears. To convince you of the wonderful job he’s doing.  He cannot fool you, because his maths is more like, nothing from nothing leaves nothing. This is what is happening in Trinidad and Tobago today – just last week I heard the Prime Minister claim that he never appointed Mr. Wendell Mottley to the Sandals Committee.

He was even acting like he wanted to fight the journalist telling him no that isn’t true. Robert Amar is now a folk hero for showing up the lies of the PM.

This is the nature of this Rowley Do Nothing Government- They wrong and they strong!

It is clear the Prime Minister isn’t living in reality -he’s living in his own Rowley’s world. A world where all you do every day is play golf and have cocktails in castles!  And when somebody ask you “why you not working” -you just say “Blame Kamla” “Blame the UNC”. They have taken the blame game to Olympic proportions.

Despite all of this – this abysmal record of incompetence and failure; this Do-Nothing Prime Minister has the audacity to question my time as Prime Minister!

I challenged the Prime Minister to a debate and he declined. And I don’t blame him because he has nothing to talk about. What we going to talk about? I don’t play golf! What will we debate about! He wants to talk about the UNC and what we did in office.

Well let’s talk: We built hospitals, roads, bridges, health centres, police stations and community centres all over Trinidad and Tobago.

He can’t even finish the projects that we started like the Arima and Point Fortin Hospital…. We built the Couva Hospital in 2 years and started the Arima and Point Fortin Hospital… but 4 years later he can’t even finish that!

What have you done Prime Minister?

Talk to me when you have delivered ONE police station, ONE community centre, ONE hospital – or anything that will benefit people.  Until you can do that – just try and MIND YOUR BUSINESS.

Rowley is a failure today, yesterday and he will still be in a failure in 2020! Today, we are living through some of the darker periods in our history!  And it feels like we are living in a reality show “Keeping up with Keith Rowley”. This a Government that like to talk on TV. Instead of a Prime Minister we have a Talk show host!  They can’t run a single Ministry well, but they know how to run their mouth on TV! It’s all talk and nothing to show!  

The country was subjected to the Rowley Show for two nights with his PowerPoint and following that the return of his Conversations – one in Palo Seco where he couldn’t be bothered to show up! After almost four (4) years in government, Keith Rowley and his government HAVE NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH, ZERO TO SHOW!

BLAMING KAMLA WILL NOT HELP YOU, JUST SHOW US YOUR WORK SIR?  YOU HAVE SPENT MORE THAN $166 BILLION…WHERE THE MONEY GONE?

The entire country mash up under his Government.

Venezuela

I can only apologise for the manner in which the Rowley Government has treated with this crisis and your countrymen and women who have sought refuge in our country, only to be turned away or disrespected.  I tell the people of Venezuela that the Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago shares their desire for a return to democracy, peace and freedom.

I take umbrage at the Prime Minister’s lack of decorum and his non-diplomatic tone in dealing with this matter in Parliament; I take issue with his not-so-veiled attack on one of our most important trading partners, the United States of America.

I saw this morning that the Prime Minister is saying that he is standing on principle on the Venezuelan matter. I want to say to him one must first have principles in order to stand on them. The hasty bad decisions of our government on the diplomatic front has far reaching consequences in the area of national security and trade. A leader doesn’t attack and alienate our largest ally-whom we depend on for regional security and economic stability!  A leader doesn’t tell the entire free world-they they wrong-but he is right! 

A leader wouldn’t appoint a man who sounds like he is not sure where he is, whether he is coming or going or what he is doing in any given moment to lead our Foreign Affairs Ministry at this critical moment… (poor fella. I feel for him.) He is a diplomatic tragi-comedy!!

I call on Dr. Rowley to recognize that his “meet me on the pavement” diplomacy, is inconsistent with the maintenance of mutually beneficial bi-lateral diplomatic relations with friends.

#UNCWorks – Record of Performance

Don’t lose hope.  We fixed this country after Manning and we will fix it again after Rowley.

We only see nothing when we look at their performance PNM, but the Government I led had a track record of performance.

And when THIS woman was Prime Minister – I delivered for the People of Trinidad and Tobago!

We performed in every sector, we worked hard for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.  We were focused on uplifting you and the nation. We took a flailing economy and put over 55,000 people to work during our term; put the country on the path to growth and prosperity; put our shoulders to the wheel and worked night and day! We had the country moving, working! We did it before and we can do it again!

#UNCWorks (2020) 

Our country today faces significant challenges. The Rowley Government does not have the competence, vision or leadership to move Trinidad and Tobago forward. 

The UNC remains focused and we have a clear plan for the development of our country in all areas: ensuring the safety and security of our citizens; providing quality education for our children; improving the standard of healthcare provided to citizens and focusing on expanding the economy and creating sustainable jobs.

UNC’s Economic Recovery and Diversification Plan 2020-2025

The task facing the next UNC government will be to bring our economy back onto a sustainable growth path, restart the diversification process and restore trust in government. Our National Economic Recovery and Diversification Plan 2020-2025 summarises the plans and initiatives which we intend to pursue to get our people working again. We have identified several diversification flagship economic projects which will mobilise and engage the private sector in kickstarting economic recovery and growth. I am confident in the will and ability of our people to overcome these challenges, as we have demonstrated in the past. The country is now fully aware that Rowley DID NOT HAVE A PLAN; DOES NOT HAVE A PLAN, AND WILL NEVER HAVE A PLAN… We will reverse the decline in the economy and once again focus resources on the people of our nation.

The PNM did not want to open the Children’s Hospital, we will do it within three months of getting back into government; we will rebuild the Port of Spain General Hospital and refurbish the Mount Hope Hospital and we will build and open as many health facilities as we need.

We will re-open the GATE to allow our youngsters to access Tertiary Education, intensify our efforts in IT and Innovative technologies for sustainable jobs and to fortify the economy and create conditions to revive the economy by encouraging entrepreneurship, business investment and job creation.

On the East-West Corridor, these communities are a major focus for the UNC. Our plan to set-up a special economic zone from Barataria to Valencia will include tax breaks for entrepreneurs who set-up their manufacturing, digital and eco-businesses. The Corridor has the skilled labour required for these businesses which will create the jobs to get the corridor working and moving again.

The bells toll will soon; the tide has turned and as we approach the elections later this year. I ask that you stand with me, stand with this great party, the UNC, as we ensure that we wipe out the scourge of this wicked PNM Government.

United as a people, the UNC Government will return good governance to this country. With the experience of running the most successful Government in the history of Trinidad coupled with the bright sparks of new ideas, filled with innovation and firm fair guidance, the UNC team will be the best in class. And their main job will be to serve you, the people. Our people have suffered for so long, it has been a long and painful road, filled with hurt, despair, desperation and sometimes depression under this PNM.

I say to you, let not the darkness extinguish the fires of hope for they cannot take hope away from you. Hope is contagious, let us all channel that hope into a united movement, and together we will be victorious. And once we do, we commit that we will restore equality and equity to every single citizen.

This is my hope. This is my dream for my country. For our Home. Our beloved Trinidad and Tobago. 

The full text of the Political Leader’s Speaking Notes is available KPB Speaking Notes Jan 27 2019