I was in Tobago

He gave this explanation yesterday, a day after Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar toured flood-ravaged areas of Siparia and Penal and handed out grocery hampers to affected residents.

During a tour in Penal/Debe areas severely affected by Bret, Rowley said he spent the weekend in Tobago.

He said that reports from the Met Office on the weekend advised that based on the projected path of the storm, Tobago was to have received the worst of it. In reality, South, Central and East Trinidad bore the brunt of Bret’s rains, wind and the subsequent flooding.

“I was scheduled to come back on Tuesday. Storm conditions and storm warnings were discontinued at 5 o’clock on Tuesday. I am here on Wednesday. If there is someone missing me, I would love to know who that is,” Rowley told reporters.

While in Tobago, Rowley said, he was in continuous contact with all relevant stakeholders including those in the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), National Security Council and various Govt Ministers.

Among those on the tour yesterday were Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein; Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan; Housing Minister Randall Mitchell; National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis. Rowley said his concern is getting tangible help to those in areas who cannot access food, water and warm conditions.

As such, items such as mattresses, dry foods and water are priorities he said. “We have all the agencies with us here today and what we need to get first and foremost is food and water for those people who are marooned. With respect to physical infrastructure, nothing much can be done now until the water subsides,” Rowley said.

Several flood-affected residents at Debe Trace condemned the Prime Minister for remaining in his SUV while speaking to them through the vehicle’s window. Unlike other officials, Dr Rowley did not wear boots on the tour yesterday.

On Tuesday, Persad-Bissessar wore lace-up boots as she met with affected residents and gave out emergency food hampers.

Invited by some residents to interact with them, Rowley responded: “Well I can’t spend time with everybody. I am trying to go through and see as much as I can in two hours. Therefore, some people I get to talk to.” Many persons were left marooned yesterday due to the storm which dumped so much water in such a short space of time that major flooding was inevitable.

Media personnel covering the PM’s visit, were trapped in the middle of the flooded Debe Street, when the maxi taxi transporting them stalled. A truck driver employed with Anand Low Price Supermarket came to the aid of stranded journalists some of who climbed through the maxi taxi windows to reach the flat-bed truck.

Transport Minister Sinanan commenting on the overflowing river at Suchit Trace noted that works had resumed on the nearby highway. Residents had blamed the flooding to shoddy work on the highway. “I have instructed three directors with me here today to go into NIDCO, see what it is the residents are talking about and see if that it is really a part of the problems they face. The highway is continuing to Point Fortin.