PM Kamla: Reshmi's appointment biggest mistake; Wattie is a big help

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with her sister, Wattie Newton

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has told the SUNDAY EXPRESS that her biggest mistake since assuming office in May 2010 was the brief appointment of Reshmi Ramnarine as the director of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA).

"The greatest fallout was the appointment of Reshmi Ramnarine...There may have been others. At the time it seemed like the best thing to do. I can't go into all of those reasons at this point in time. I think it was a mistake. I did say it was a mistake but I will not make another one like that," she told the Express in an interview.

Ramnarine resigned from the position after questions arose in the public domain about her qualifications and suitability for the sensitive intelligence position. The Prime Minister did not elaborate on the matter except to tell the paper what she said in Parliament in February - that it was a "misstep".

The Express also asked her is she is an alcoholic.

"It is not true. It is definitely not true. I could not work the hours and days and nights that I do should I have had such a problem. That (rumour) began in our internal elections by the way," she said.

She also said she is not aware of any relationship between her sister, Wattie Newton and George Nicholas III, the Caribbean Airlines chairman.

"To my knowledge it is totally untrue. In fact they ran a story saying that she and George ran off to Canada. The poor child never went to Canada with me since being here and I never travelled with George to Canada either," she said.

Persad-Bissessar pointed out that Wattie left her life and work in London to come to Trinidad during elections. She helps the Prime Minister with travel, preparations for meetings, wardrobe and meals. And she pointed out that her sister is not employed or paid by the government.

"I do give her some of my own money because she has to live...She was gainfully employed for many years and I am very grateful to her for helping me. 

"I can trust her with my personal things: my food, my clothing. She came for the internal election and within weeks when Mr Manning called the general election I had to say 'come back'. She came immediately and has been here ever since."

Persad-Bissessar had an unambiguous answer to a question about whether she has ever lied to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

"I have not lied to the people of T&T but sometimes I do tell a white lie to my grandson...I cannot recall any such instance. I may have made a mistake at one time or another but I do not recall deliberately lying to the public."

She also spoke about her love for politics, connecting it to the work that has taken place with the children's life fund and the children who have had the benefit of that.

"Why do I like politics? That is one reason. For every life that you impact—whether it is saving a life or improving the quality of life—you feel like you did your part," she says.

"I always say the voice of the people is the voice of God. As a Prime Minister and an elected representative of people my job is not about me. My job is to know what the majority opinion is and to get that opinion out."

She told the paper the people of Trinidad & Tobago are the judges of the work she is doing as their leader.

"At the end of the day the voters would tell us whether we were wrong or right but I have not thus far met a situation where the rational decision and empirical evidence are not supported by the majority," she said.

Read the full interview in the SUNDAY EXPRESS