Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar, said government’s PR event “Spotlight on the Economy” at the Hyatt was such a brazen act of political propaganda it would have made even North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un blush with embarrassment.
In a release on Saturday, she said, “Autocratic leaders believe only they are right and yesterday’s events only solidify the view held by the people of our country – that Keith Rowley is completely disconnected from reality, he is unconcerned with the truth, and he has no plan to move Trinidad and Tobago forward.
“?Once again in what has become a running theme with this PNM government, unelected state employees were trotted out before the public and made to sing the praises of the Rowley regime under the nearby watchful gaze of Rowley himself.”
She added, “Though dubbed as an event to discuss the true nature of the state of the economy, no independent economists or analysts were present to give their perspectives. Nor were ordinary citizens currently struggling under the weight of mass unemployment, runaway food prices, and exploding violent crime, were allowed to participate.”
“This was no ‘spotlight’ on the economy -rather it was an act of obscurity to cover up the PNM’s blatant failures,” she pointed out.
According to Persad-Bissessar, “It was depressingly predictable that all the Minister of Finance had to offer our nation was yet another litany of the same tired excuses; blame Kamla, blame covid, blame Putin.
“Once again the Minister of Finance with his usual low bar of expectations wants us to focus on countries worse off than us rather than the countries moving ahead of us.”
She noted that for the eighth consecutive year, this PNM regime has failed to outline a clear policy to promote economic growth, increase the ease of doing business and create an investor-friendly environment.
“The people of Trinidad and Tobago do not need to attend a fancy lunch at the Hyatt paid for by taxpayers to know the truth about the harsh economic reality they are living in.”
“They can taste it every time they buy their groceries. They can see it every time they travel to work or fill their car with gasoline. They can feel it every time they look at their children and wonder how they are going to afford school books and uniforms.”
Persad-Bissessar said, “Keith Rowley may control what state employees say but Rowley cannot control the truth which every citizen knows; that our nation is in crisis and in need of a government that works for them, not against them.”
“Once again, it has been made painfully clear that this Rowley-led regime is incapable of managing our nation’s affairs, and must do the right thing and step aside, and allow a leader and team with the vision and capability to take our country forward,” said the opposition leader.
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