“Your government is not an irresponsible one.”
So said Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley as he told an audience that Government did not act irresponsibly when it took the decision to send Strategic Services Agency (SSA) director on administrative leave, appoint TT Ambassador to Washington DC Brig-Gen Anthony Phillips-Spencer as acting director and review the agency’s operations.
Addressing an audience at Skiffle Bunch Pan Yard, Coffee Street, San Fernando, on Tuesday night during his “Conversations with the Prime Minister” forum Rowley said, “Your government is not an irresponsible government. You don’t see us doing that everyday. You see us doing it when it is required.”
In his first comments on the SSA decision after the opening of a new public library in Diego Martin on Monday, Rowley said, “It was all part of the response and the remit to the information being taken by the police.”
On Tuesday, Rowley did not shed any light on what that information was.
“I know many of you don’t know why. I couldn’t tell you everything that we know but we have to act on everything that we know.”
He said this was another instance of government “putting the public interest first, sticking to our oath of office without fear or favour, malice or ill will, taking the decisions that have to be taken.”
Rowley said the town hall anti-crime meetings being hosted by the UNC demonstrate is only interested in using crime to further its political campaign for next year’s general election.
He questioned why the UNC invited former St Lucia prime minister Allan Chastanet to speak at its last meeting in Sangre Grande on Monday.
After reminding his audience that the UNC has been uncooperative in helping Government to address crime over the last eight years, Rowley said there is no advice that Chastanet could give to solve crime in TT.
“No thanks Tropical Trump.”
Chastanet’s government was voted out of office in the July 26, 2021 general election.
In May 2022, St Lucia Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre promised to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate acts of alleged public corruption under Chastanet’s former administration.