Rowley praises San Fernando

Saying that he was “fighting the Trump” to describe his slow recovery from a sore throat he has had since Saturday, Rowley apologised and proceeded to near whisper his address at the close of the swearing- in ceremony of the tenth San Fernando City Council.

“I acknowledge the San Fernando City Corporation as one of the best run in the nation,” said Rowley, and the crowd of proud San Fernandians roundly applauded his praise.

“A few months ago, I made a call for nationals, whoever you may be, what skills you may have, what talents or resources you may have, to get involved in some aspect of volunteering in your community, and I must say that when I did that, I observed that the City of San Fernando’s leadership took up that call.

“On more than one occasion I was informed as to how people in San Fernando participated in exercises which were not all funded by the exchequer, because there are a lot of things that can be done without a budget being assigned or some huge amount of allocation...

and in some instances these things are better done without a bucket of money being thrown at it, because involvement of the citizens in getting done what should be done themselves has a value which one cannot apply up front.” Rowley said that this spirit of volunteerism needed to grow for the sake of reforming local government.

He then turned his attention to San Fernando’s contribution to the culture of Trinidad and Tobago.

“What always struck me about San Fernando was that cultural drive that used to be San Fernando.

I remember coming to San Fernando for Panorama many years ago and Panorama in San Fernando for me was even more exciting than it was in Port-of- Spain.” Rowley urged the new mayor of the city, Junia Regrello, and his Council, to rebuild San Fernando as a cultural centre and to help regain “valuable aspects of our lives” that have been “replaced by complaints and lack of involvement and general slothfulness.” Also present at the ceremony were Attorney General, Faris Al-Rawi; Housing Minister, Randall Mitchell; Hazel Manning, wife of deceased former Prime Minister Patrick Manning; and the country’s first Olympic gold medalist, Hasely Crawford.