Rowley vows to take on Anil, Anand

Rowley says Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Roberts and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan are setting poor standards of behaviour in their effort to “buss mark” on the former PNM administration.

Responding to allegations made by Roberts in Parliament last Friday, that he had granted approval for Joseph Rahael’s building in Glencoe in 2003, Rowley said as a Government minister Roberts’ conduct was “reprehensible.” “Since he has raised the matter in the Parliament, I will respond to him in the Parliament. There is absolutely no truth to what he has said. His conduct is quite scandalous. He represents a kind of Government where Government ministers believe that their job is to vilify, to lie, to ‘buss mark’ and to expose wrongdoing,” Rowley said.

Rowley said that was how People’s Partnership ministers saw their duty and it was only a matter of time before they became a general nuisance to the population. “I think that Anil Roberts has reached that stage,” Rowley said. He spoke to reporters during a walkabout of Durata Gardens, Sangre Grande, last evening. On the issue of the “lost and found” piano at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s, the Opposition Leader said Ramlogan did not have the class to apologise.

Rowley said there were too many intelligent people in TT and that people wanted to be represented by people of class.

“But what is worrisome, is that this is no ordinary citizen, no ordinary office-holder. This is the AG, the person who is supposed to protect each and every one of us under the Constitution, under the laws, who swore an oath of office to treat fairly with all manner of persons, without fear, without malice, without ill-will, and to stand up in the Parliament and virtually accuse a former prime minister (Patrick Manning) of stealing a piano...and when he’s exposed as being ridiculous in the matter, he says ‘well I don’t care.’ He might not care but we care,” Rowley said.

He added, “the AG has demonstrated time and time again, that class and Anand Ramlogan don’t go together.”

On allegations that Emerald Plaza, owned by Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner, did not receive approval for construction at the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, Rowley said he did not want to comment, as he did not have the facts.

However, he said he would not be surprised if this were so, since many buildings in TT were constructed without approval.