(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday she was never blackmailed by anyone, including former director of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Reshmi Ramnarine, now called Shashi Rehka.
Persad-Bissessar chastised Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley for bringing a motion of no-confidence in her which was debated for over 27 hours in the Parliament, saying he abused Parliamentary privilege to assassinate her character.
Speaking after Rowley wrapped up the longest ever debate in the history of Parliament, Persad-Bissessar responded to Rowley’s accusations and allegations.
On Friday Rowley disclosed that Ramnarine had changed her name to Rehka via a deed poll and was employed under a Government contract.
She was the subject of controversy early last year after an exclusive Express report revealed that she was underqualified and had fabricated her resume to be elevated to the post of head of the spy agency.
She immediately resigned.
As he revealed that Ramnarine had changed her name, Rowley questioned what “hold” she had on the Prime Minister and suggested that she was being blackmailed.
Said Persad-Bissessar yesterday: “I can’t see how that leads you to have no confidence in me because somebody change their name, that is nonsense, that is ludicrous, that is foolishness. What worries me Mr Speaker is the spurious allegations made in an attempt to tarnish my character and something that’s a total falsehood and that is to say- the honourable Member said that for some reason I was being blackmailed. Mr Speaker nothing is further from the truth, I am not now, nor have I ever been blackmailed in my life, there is nothing to blackmail me with as I said before and I repeat today my hands are clean, my heart is pure.”
She said Rowley made many spurious allegations in the motion without an iota of evidence to support it.
She said he used the cloak of Parliamentary privilege to make his claims and dared him to repeat them outside the chamber.
“Should he go out and make these spurious allegations, you know I have court clothes…make your statements outside and face the consequences we here members will have redress in the courts of law and the justice system of our country.”
“Give me one instance in this House where you have shown evidence where I encouraged wrongdoing, not one single example, not one single piece of evidence,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said she never stood nor presided over any wrongdoing in her government.
“There were allegations with respect to airport contracts..what did I do? I stopped the contracts and had them investigated when the allegations were made,” she said.
She added that when there was a conflict of interest allegation made against her former planning minister Mary King, she acted swiftly and fired her.
“You think that was an easy decision to take? There was evidence that she made omissions and how could I stand in the face of that, it was a hard decision,” said Persad-Bissessar.
Persad-Bissessar further knocked Rowley for stating there was no confidence in her because she failed to stimulate the economy.
She quoted from the latest Central Bank report dated March 2, which stated, “After an extended economic slowdown that lasted three years, some evidence is emerging the economy has begun to turn the corner, commercial bank credit to the business sector has expanded steadily since May 2011 as the Government capital programme gains traction.”
She stressed that under Finance Minister Winston Dookeran, Government has been able to stabilise the economy.
