PM fires Marlene again

She was yesterday summoned to the Prime Minister’s Residence at St Ann’s to face Rowley, but afterwards flatly refused to take questions from reporters .

At 1.08 pm yesterday media houses received notification of her firing in a statement emailed in the name of the Government’s Press Secretary (Arlene Goring-George), just 48 hours after her return to Cabinet last Friday .

“Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley has today advised President Anthony Carmona to revoke the appointment of Ms .

Marlene McDonald, Minister of Public Utilities with immediate effect .

“Ms McDonald was recently sworn in as Minister in the Ministry of Public Utilities after a sixteen (16) month period of absence from the Cabinet. The President has also been advised that the portfolio of Public Utilities should be assigned to the Prime Minister who will now assume these duties in addition to his other responsibilities.” The statement did not say why she was dismissed, and Newsday yesterday could not contact any Government Member to defend Rowley, not even he himself .

Last Friday Mc Donald was sworn in by President Anthony Carmona and then took her place in the House of Representatives as Minister of Public Utilities, but speculation ran rife that the very swearing-in ceremony carried the seeds of her dismissal .

The advocacy group, Fixin’ T&T in an online post raised red flags about guest, Sea Lots personality Cedric Burke, whose presence reportedly alarmed Special Branch officers at the event and reportedly incensed Rowley upon his learning of it later on .

Previously Mc Donald had served as Minister of Community Development in the Rowley Administration but was fired over a year ago. Questions had arisen over her alleged recommendation of public housing for her male companion, Michael Carew .

She was also queried over donations from her ministry when she was minister in 2010 of $375,000 and $200,000 plus another sum to the Calabar Foundation, of which Carew was said to be a director. Mc Donald had assured all was above board .

Kamla: Gov’t is inept Yesterday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in a statement said the episode shows the Government’s ineptness, plus Rowley’s unfitness for office. “The problems Rowley now faces within his Cabinet are because of his lack of vision, leadership and judgement when choosing these individuals .

“The Prime Minister restored Ms McDonald to ministerial office even as she was under active investigation by both the Integrity Commission and the police and whilst concerns continued to be expressed about her fitness for office .

It appears that nothing has changed since Ms McDonald was removed as a Minister and the Prime Minister should have already known his MP had questionable associations .

“The re-appointment of Ms Mc- Donald highlighted the absence of capable and skilled personnel available to the Prime Minister. It took just three days for the Prime Minister’s reshuffle to be confirmed as a misdeal. I expect that in the coming days, more questions will be raised regarding the prudence of other choices the Prime Minister made during his Cabinet reshuffle and appointments.” Persad-Bissessar hit Mc Donald for breaching protocol by having at her swearing-in someone known to the police, even as the country is besieged by violent crimes .

“It is increasingly evident that the Rowley regime has collapsed in office because of the Prime Minister’s incompetence as a leader, which is highlighted by his lack of skill, compassion and commitment to take Trinidad and Tobago out of its current critical state.” Persad-Bissessar said Rowley should now resign and seek a fresh mandate. Yesterday Opposition MP for Oropouche East Dr Roodal Moonilal told Newsday that Mc Donald’s sudden re-hiring and firing was unheard of before .

“She was sworn in on Friday, sworn at on Saturday, and sworn out on Sunday.” “Dr Rowley’s actions have brought the People’s National Movement (PNM) as a party into disrepute.” Moonilal also said it was untenable for Rowley as Prime Minister to run the Ministry of Public Utilities. “This is a mega ministry which needs a 24/7 hands-on approach. I imagine he is in a holding position, searching for another minister.” Moonilal also alleged that Mc Donald may have committed an act tantamount to an act of treason by breaching the security of President Carmona by the presence of Burke (although she has denied inviting him) .

Ghany: Saga ‘absolutely incredible’ Political analyst Dr Hamid Ghany said the saga reflected badly on Rowley, saying it was “absolutely incredible” for Mc Donald to be appointed on Friday and fired on Monday. Ghany said, “I think that when he made the appointment he knew he was taking a risk and he said that if anything further came up with the Integrity Commission he will be prepared to act. That signalled to me that he was prepared to dismiss her again, if anything adverse came up .

“I don’t think he gambled it would have happened this soon, and that it would have been something totally unrelated to the Integrity Commission. His thinking was he that would dismiss her again, and that is where my problem lies because that really is not the way to run a government. You can’t run a government on the basis that if something comes up I will act.” Ghany said Rowley may not have said why he dismissed her but he said concerns have been raised in the media that top military and intelligence officials were alarmed at Burke’s presence. “I don’t know the nature if their alarm but if it anything related to security, Dr Rowley is chair of the National Security Council and he obviously may know of certain things that the rest of us may not know anything about, and that may have caused him to take action .

“But it is hugely embarrassing to him personally, because Stuart Young (Minister in the OPM) on Saturday said that these matters are the sole domain of the Prime Minister, so there is no-one else to whom you can point a finger on this fiasco but the Prime Minister.” Ghany said while Mc Donald would have ‘earned her spurs’ by having prior ministerial and parliamentary experience, she had problems at her screening for the 2015 General Elections, arising from Fixin’ T&T’s claims, for which she was ultimately dismissed in 2016 .

“It was an old story that eventually caught up with her by March 2016 .

There are Integrity Commission issues still up in the air, which the Prime Minister knew about, which he commented on and which he said that if something came up he would act. So he baked into the cake the fact that he was prepared to dismiss her again and that is where my problem lies with it. That is a governance challenge because when a prime minister says “I will be prepared to dismiss my minister again if something embarrassing comes up’, it raises questions about judgement and about the whole governance/management issue .

That is my real concern .

“This is something that didn’t have to happen, on two fronts .

Firstly, the Prime Minister didn’t have to appoint her, so I don’t know what the pressure was or what the internal issue was that led him to appoint her.” Secondly, Ghany said the confusion over the guest-list she obviously wanted to add persons to her guest list and President’s House is saying she was going to supply the names and the names were not supplied and the gentleman was there on the day in question. A number of things were said in the media but they are mere allegations. What would have caused Dr Rowley to take this action. If it is related to the guest then he is NSC chairman and he must now why it would be so serious that he would have to dismiss her two days or 48 hours after appointing her. “This was absolutely incredible that she was sworn in on Friday and dismissed on Sunday.” Burke silent Efforts to reach Mc Donald’s controversial guest Cedric “Burkie” Burke yesterday were futile. Newsday visited his home in Sea Lots but was told he was asleep .

ACP in charge of crime Irwin Hackshaw told Newsday Burke was known to police for his affiliation with the “Rasta City” gang, as well as other criminal activities. He did not give specifics .

In 2011, Burke was among several people who were arrested in the Eastern Port of Spain area, for gang affiliation, however he was subsequently released without charge .

Burke was again arrested in Sea Lots in April 2013 along with 12 other people after police conducted a dragnet in response to a rash of gang violence a month before .

Burke has defended himself, saying he is a legitimate businessman who owns several construction and security companies. “I am a businessman and I have all the proof to prove I am a legitimate businessman .

I have never been convicted in this country or any country for anything whatsoever,” he said in 2013 .

(With additional reporting by Sasha Harrinanan and Ryan Hamilton-Davis)