Rowley questions ‘tanty and nennen’ at PM’s residence

The Prime Minister’s official residence at St Ann’s has become the home of “tanty, uncle and nennen” of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s extended family, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley is charging.  Making the claim at his news conference yesterday at the  leader of the Opposition office, Charles Street. Port-of-Spain,, Rowley alleged that lodging, food and official transportation was being made available to people who have no claim on Government, whatsoever.  Rowley said he had no objection to a relative overnighting at the PM’s residence but for members of the PM’s extended family to stay there and leave to go to work in Government vehicles was out of the question.  He rejected Foreign Affairs and Communications Minister Dr Surujrattan Rambachan’s statement that one should not take issue with tha tsince it was a demonstration of family life.

 

 Provisions for officers of the State do not include their extended families, Rowley added. Noting that each trip by helicopter from Philippine in the South (the PM’s family home) to St Ann’s costs $3,000. Rowley said: “The Prime Minister’s residence is not a family playground. I am calling on the Prime Minister to cease and desist.” Persad-Bissessar was taken to task for taking her sister, Vidwatie Newton, to India on a trip which cost the State $250,000. The PM responded that Newton was her personal assistant and added that women leaders have different needs. Rowley said he was preparing a question to file in Parliament, asking the PM to tell of every instance in which her sister functioned as her personal assistant... and at what cost.

 

 He said he suspected Newton had been functioning as Persad-Bissessar’s personal assistant since 2010.  Lisa Ghany, from the Office of the Prime Minister, said the PM already had issued a statement about her sister.  As for allegations concerning any other member of her family, Ghany said there would be no response from the PM’s Office.  Rowley also questioned the installing of a new elevator at the Prime Minister’s residence. He added: “I was told it was earmarked for a multi-storey building to carry 15 people. “We need an explanation on whether the elevator was overdesigned or oversubscribed. This elevator was said to be for the buildings down at Victoria Keys.” Rowley charged that the Government had been upgrading that housing project in Diego Martin to make it available to certain people, depriving those in need of homes. “What we have is a feteing cabal where a good time is being had by all,” he charged.