Rowley apologises for critcism of PM Kamla

When Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar took decisive action last Friday and  put Trinidad and Tobago on alert to deal with an imminent threat from a tropical storm, opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley ridiculed her as trying to score cheap political points and causing unnecessary panic because of a passing "cloud".

The "cloud" turned out to be the the tail of Hurricane Tomas which hit with devastating effect over the weekend, causing extensive flooding and damage in many parts of Trinidad and in Tobago. The hurricane also caused extensive damage and deaths in neighbouring Caribbean states, with at least a dozen deaths in St Lucia.

On Tuesday, Rowley admitted that he was wrong and apologised to the Prime Minister for his remarks.
 
"My use of the term 'cloud' was unfortunate and since it did give the unintended impression that I was trivialising a serious situation, for this I must apologise to the public.

"I have been roundly criticised for this comment and it was even incorrectly broadcast repeatedly that I was opposed to the Government taking precautionary action in the face of a storm threat. Nothing is further from the truth. It was simply a difference of opinion as to how we should respond.

"I have had responsibility for a number of emergencies of similar or more severe nature throughout the Eastern Caribbean over the years and will never be so reckless as to make unwarranted criticism of Government for taking appropriate pre-emptive action," Rowley wrote in a letter to media editors.

However he said he still believes that a shutdown of the country on Friday was an "overreaction".

He said, "The Government of Trinidad and Tobago, quite properly, took steps to respond to the threat and subsequently provided the necessary assistance and empathy to the citizens affected."

He said his initial remarks were made because he felt the storm system was moving away from Trinidad on a north-westerly course and therefore "the official response of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and its agencies, was a 'total shutdown' of Port of Spain and Trinidad, and this position went on well into Friday night, when it was clear that the path of the system was taking it away from Trinidad."

He said the the Prime Minister's statement that she never gave instructions to shut down the country means that she agreed with him "that in the specific instance a total shutdown was not the appropriate response."