His latest declaration that the People's National Movement (PNM) is not prepared to associate itself with Government's "incompetence, wrongdoing and ulterior motives" in declaring a state of emergency shows that his interest lies in gaining political points rather than dealing with the safety and security of citizens.
And it's also contradictory.
Last week he was all over the government for not dealing with crime and was offering to meet with the Prime Minister to find ways to deal with the problem. He said he was willing to discuss whatever legislative measures are needed and offered to cooperate with the government.
That was the same Rowley who refused to work with the same government and the same Prime Minister in February this year to find a compromise on the bill to hang murderers. He and his MPs killed the bill, which required a special majority to pass.
Then last week, suddenly Rowley began shedding crocodile tears for the 11 victims of killers who died within a 48-hour period. And now that the government has acted, he is withdrawing his enthusiasm.
The problem is that Rowley continues to see everything in Trinidad and Tobago from his personal political bias without regard for the national good.
Now he is dismissing the state of emergency as part of a plot to detain people "in certain parts of the country".
He told reporters Wednesday once detained, then Government would invoke the Anti-Gang and Bail Amendment Bill to hold them without charge for as long as possible, hoping to get past December, and reduce the number of homicides between 2010 and 2011 for political reasons.
"That was always the objective," he said.
Well hold it for a minute and analyse what Rowley is saying.
First he is saying the government is rounding up certain people according to where they live. Then, he says, they are holding them until December to show the number of murders is down.
It seems to me that Rowley is admitting but not saying that those people who are being "rounded up and detained" are responsible for the murders - or at least some of the murders - in the country. How else could he conclude that by locking them up the murder rate would drop?
And what is the message this wannabe national leader is sending to gang leaders and gang members? That he is on their side. I hope I am wrong, so I leave that for you to figure out.
The State of Emergency has become necessary because Rowley's former leader and the government of which he was a part refused to deal with crime.
Under the Kamla government, the security forces had started to deal with crime and those who were hurt started to fight back with a vengeance. So the government acted. And it acted with the right formula.
This is the first time in Trinidad & Tobago that a government has had to declare a state of emergency specifically to deal with crime because those who ran the country until May 2010 looked the other way when criminals did as they pleased.
The Manning administration refused to deal with the problem and chose instead to entertain gang leaders at taxpayers' expense and then hand them lucrative contracts.
It was Rowley's former boss who boasted that he knew MR BIG who was the crime boss, yet Manning did nothing about it. It was the same "leader" who said crime was not a problem when hundreds were dying every year while he was prime minister.
How could Rowley honestly criticise the Kama government when his government had no plan to deal with crime?
Under the PNM there were 2,868 reported murders between 2002 and 2009, with a record high of 550 in 2008. And all that the PNM was prepared to do was launch irrelevant public relations campaigns and waste money on blimps and expensive international consultants.
If Rowley wants to lead he must demonstrate competence and rationality, not to mention caring for all citizens instead of only those who support him and the PNM. Those days are gone forever.
KAMLA has shown that she cares about Trinidad & Tobago and the safety and security of ALL its citizens.
This is the first time in Trinidad & Tobago that a government has had to declare a state of emergency specifically to deal with crime because those who ran the country until May 2010 looked the other way when criminals did as they pleased.
The Manning administration refused to deal with the problem and chose instead to entertain gang leaders at taxpayers' expense and then hand them lucrative contracts.
It was Rowley's former boss who boasted that he knew MR BIG who was the crime boss, yet Manning did nothing about it. It was the same "leader" who said crime was not a problem when hundreds were dying every year while he was prime minister.
How could Rowley honestly criticise the Kama government when his government had no plan to deal with crime?
Under the PNM there were 2,868 reported murders between 2002 and 2009, with a record high of 550 in 2008. And all that the PNM was prepared to do was launch irrelevant public relations campaigns and waste money on blimps and expensive international consultants.
If Rowley wants to lead he must demonstrate competence and rationality, not to mention caring for all citizens instead of only those who support him and the PNM. Those days are gone forever.
KAMLA has shown that she cares about Trinidad & Tobago and the safety and security of ALL its citizens.
The nation supports her move and it is time for Rowley to start learning to LEAD in a constructive manner. Otherwise he should just shut up and get out of the way.
Jai Parasram - 25 August 2011
Jai Parasram - 25 August 2011
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