Opposition Leader: One Rule for PNM and Another Rule for Everybody Else

According to a TV6 News report aired on Wednesday October 27, 2021, Prime Minister Rowley’s latest Covid-19 exposure came about after he came into close contact with a female employee at the Magdalena Golf Resort, Tobago, on Saturday October 23, 2021, who was unaware that she was Covid-19 positive at the time.

The TV6 News item noted that Prime Minister Rowley confirmed in a statement that the cart he was driving did in fact hit the woman, and that he continued his golf game after other persons including those from his security detail attended to her. He also said he was informed by his lawyer that the victim had sought medical treatment. Rowley, however, notably did not say whether he was aware that the woman turned out to be Covid-19 positive.

It is reasonable to assume that, given the fact that the accident victim said that she did not get confirmation of her Covid-19 positive status until yesterday, the Prime Minister would have been unaware of his exposure.

Rowley and his government have imposed harsh Covid restrictions on the population but simultaneously disregard those restrictions.

Parents cannot take their kids to the beach, but Rowley and his entourage can play golf unfettered by any restriction. Where is the science in this?

Thousands of persons have been fined for not wearing masks while the attorney general arm wrestles with no mask and no social distancing.

Normal citizens are prevented from cremating or burying their loved ones while persons affiliated with the Rowley regime have large funerals.

Thousands of businesses have closed over the last year and others are now suffering from ill-conceived safe zone rules that have been imposed. Yet the businesses of friends and financiers are unaffected.

Families cannot sit together and eat in a restaurant with their children, but financiers of the government can have lavish wedding banquets.

There is one rule for the Rowley government and another rule for the citizens of our country. Rowley cannot force restrictions on the population, and then totally ignore said restrictions when it affects him.

Considering all accounts, I ask, should Keith Rowley immediately go into mandatory quarantine for the recommended 14 day-period, as per the Public Health Regulations imposed by the Ministry of Health and his Government. Or are these regulations only for the average citizen?

Kamla Persad-Bissessar, SC, MP
Leader of the Opposition