(Trinidad Guardian) Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley has expressed his disgust at the kiss given to Housing Minister Roodal Moonilal in a cheque-distribution ceremony at the Diego Martin Regional Corporation, North Post Road, Diego Martin, on Wednesday. During the ceremony, Bernadine George kissed the ground as she received her cheque from Moonilal. In a release yesterday Rowley stated: “The sight of the Minister of Housing, Dr Roodal Moonilal, obviously enjoying the moment, as he makes himself available to have a grateful citizen kiss his feet in return for a small cash grant from the coffers of the taxpayers, is nothing short of repugnant and debasing to all the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”
He described Moonilal’s action as being contrary to the real purpose of a minister. He added: “Under the circumstances, the behaviour of the minister is chilling and says much more than we want to acknowledge about how some ministers see office, not in the context of service, but only in the realm of servitude, masters and slaves, with gleefully accepting the servile responses of the grateful poor and illiterate. Rowley said it was his work that actually got the Government to distribute the grants to the people who benefited. He added: “It is noteworthy that the source of the grant is a result of representation which I, as Member of Parliament, made in a private meeting with the Honourable Prime Minister, which I sought and obtained on Wednesday September 15, 2012.”
He also said he made moves to have the grants distributed after he attended a meeting at the St Michael Parish Hall, Diego Martin, where he heard of the plight of the victims of the flooding in Diego Martin. “Subsequently, I wrote to the Prime Minister and we met in private discussion during the recent sitting of Parliament. I requested that additional funding be identified so that appropriate cash grants can be made available to those deserving victims of the flood,” he said. Rowley said he felt “demeaned” as a citizen by the incident and added: “I resent this latest humiliation.”
