PM Kamla calls Rowley a 'merchant of mischief'

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Tuesday called on Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley to apologise for Form One children entering high school.

Rowley called them "duncy" during his contribution to the budget debate.

"Mr Speaker, the Minister of Education has a laptop for you. He thinks you are a duncy-head First Former," Rowley stated as he condemned the plan to give a computer to each student entering high school for the first time.

"It is logistically burdensome on students and parents, it puts some students at risk, it is overly expensive and we are not convinced that the action flows from any well thought out policy," he said.

"It is insulting and offensive to all the students who have entered secondary school and I would ask him to withdraw that statement," she said in response to Rowley's budget reply.

"Our children are very bright, some may have challenges, but they are very bright," the Prime Minister added.

She suggested that Rowley has an "elitist approach" and called Rowley a "merchant of mischief".

She tore into Rowley for what she said was a misrepresentation of facts and the opposition leader's failure to offer an economic analysis of the budget.

She said, instead of doing that Rowley based his contribution on "fear and prejudice" adding that Rowley rehashed "some of the falsehood" propagated in the election campaign.

She said the new PNM leader was defending Alutrint, the rapid rail and property tax, the very issues that caused the fall of his predecessor and suggested that Rowley's response to the budget was full of contradictions.

She noted that on one hand Rowley noted that Government expanded the social programs, but on another predicted that it would shut them down.

Persad-Bissessar was emphatic that the government will not cut any social program, adding that all of them are important in the fight against crime. she said her government has dealt with the current economic situation with compassion.

In that context she went after Rowley for his criticisms of the CL Financial bailout plan and for the HCU bailout.

Rowley claimed that the government's move to help investors in both companies would encourage others to run to the Government when they encounter problems, noting that the PNM had planned to strengthen the regulations to prevent any more situations of this nature.

She observed that Rowley stayed away from addressing crime, which she said continues to be the number one problem facing the country.

And she addressed Rowley's statements about contribution from Royal Castle to Ross Advertising. Persad-Bissessar said she could not speak for clients of Ross Advertising.

However she noted that Rowley was seeking to impugn the integrity of the persons appointed to do the investigations into State companies, by claiming without evidence that they were the friends of the Attorney General.