Rowley: PM must fire Jack

OPPOSITION Leader Dr Keith Rowley yesterday declared that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar can no longer protect National Security Minister Jack Warner and must immediately fire him from the Cabinet.

Rowley issued this declaration in the wake of a report submitted to the Concacaf congress in Panama by former Barbados Chief Justice Sir David Simmons which

said Warner and Chuck Blazer, were “fraudulent in their management” of Concacaf’s affairs.

Warner, a former FIFA vice-president and Concacaf president, resigned from these posts in June 2011. Blazer was the former Concacaf secretary.

Speaking with reporters following the adjournment of the House of Representatives about developments regarding Warner arising out of the Concacaf congress, Rowley said, “The Prime Minister must now act as she should have done a long time ago. On Mr Warner’s own count, I have called for his removal 18 times before. This is time number 19. The Prime Minister must now act to protect the integrity of the Cabinet.”

However recalling that Persad-Bissessar has been Warner’s “great protector” for the last three years, Rowley said yesterday’s developments show that the “the Prime Minister can no longer pretend to not know what the issues are, and therefore not be required to act.”

Noting the report was a detailed one done by Simmons and he currently chairs the Commission of Enquiry into the July 27, 1990 coup attempt, Rowley said the question is, “Will the Prime Minister discharge her job, her duty in keeping with her oath of office?”

Noting that Warner is not a law unto himself and Persad-Bissessar appointed him to the Cabinet, Rowley said, “My question is to the Prime Minister, when are you going to act.”

While he could not pronounce on Warner’s innocence or guilt, Rowley said he was well within his rights as Opposition Leader to say the weight of the allegations against Warner “are too heavy to be borne by a Minister of Government in TT.”

Saying the PNM has maintained from day one that Warner’s presence in the Cabinet had the potential to damage the country’s public image, Rowley stated: “We are at that juncture now.”

Stating the PNM has accused Persad-Bissessar of being afraid “to act as required under reasonable circumstances because she is afraid of what Mr Warner will do to her career,” Rowley said: “That is detrimental to the interests of TT. This is not a matter of the individual, it is a matter of protecting the institution of the Cabinet and the people of TT.”

He charged that Persad-Bissessar’s reluctance to take any action against Warner, in the face of serious allegations against made him, portrays the Cabinet as “a cabal engaging in criminal conduct and supporting criminality.” Rowley described Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed’s statement on Thursday that Warner continued to enjoy the Government’s full support as “depressing.”

He said while the COP touted “new politics,” what Mohammed’s statement demonstrates “

there is nobody in the Cabinet who stands for the values that the people of TT expect from a functioning Cabinet.”

Identifying a no-confidence motion as an option available to the PNM if Persad-Bissessar fails to act, Rowley vowed: “We are not going to sit on our hands.”

Reiterating that Warner “can’t reside in the Cabinet under the Prime Minister’s skirt tails,”

Rowley said it was clear that Warner cannot continue to serve as a government minister, “not least of which as Minister of National Security.”Noting that Warner is not a law unto himself and Persad-Bissessar appointed him to the Cabinet, Rowley said, “My question is to the Prime Minister, when are you going to act.”

While he could not pronounce on Warner’s innocence or guilt, Rowley said he was well within his rights as Opposition Leader to say the weight of the allegations against Warner “are too heavy to be borne by a Minister of Government in TT.”

Saying the PNM has maintained from day one that Warner’s presence in the Cabinet had the potential to damage the country’s public image, Rowley stated, “We are at that juncture now.”

Stating the PNM has accused Persad-Bissessar of being afraid “to act as required under reasonable circumstances because she is afraid of what Mr Warner will do to her career,” Rowley said, “That is detrimental to the interests of TT. This is not a matter of the individual, it is a matter of protecting the institution of the Cabinet and the people of TT.”

He charged that Persad-Bissessar’s reluctance to take any action against Warner, in the face of serious allegations against made him, portrays the Cabinet as “a cabal engaging in criminal conduct and supporting criminality.” Rowley described Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed’s statement on Thursday that Warner continued to enjoy the Government’s full support as “depressing.”

He said while the COP touted “new politics,” Mohammed’s statement demonstrates “there is nobody in the Cabinet who stands for the values that the people of TT expect from a functioning Cabinet.”

Identifying a no-confidence motion as an option available to the PNM if Persad-Bissessar fails to act, Rowley vowed, “We are not going to sit on our hands.”

Reiterating that Warner “can’t reside in the Cabinet under the Prime Minister’s skirt tails,” Rowley said it was clear Warner cannot continue to serve as a Government minister, “not least of which as Minister of National Security.”

Newsday