Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday heaped praises on St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar for his sterling contribution to T&T efforts rekindling its relationship with Jamaica during a five-day trip there.
Questioned last night about his decision to invite Opposition members to Jamaica, Ramadhar’s contribution and if the Government would extend further invitations to the Opposition MP on State trips, Rowley said:
“Mr Ramadhar is a very experienced lawyer. He is a very experienced parliamentarian and he is a member of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.
“I can tell you, at critical moments in our discussions in Jamaica his input was very valuable as a member of the delegation of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Probed on if Government intended to invite more Opposition MPs on State visits after his delegation’s arrival from Kingston, Rowley said:
“Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. It all depends on the members of the Opposition. If they are invited and they turn up, then so be it. If they do not turn up, well we would go without them.”
Ramadhar, however, steered clear of fielding questions from the T&T Guardian concerning comments made by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who criticised him for accepting the invitation by Rowley.
Instead, he said he would hold a press conference soon to clear the air on certain issues.
“Tonight was all about the Prime Minister and the trip. I don’t want to comment,” a smiling Ramadhar said in the VIP room of the Piarco International Airport.
Last week, Persad-Bissessar knocked Ramadhar for accepting the invitation, saying an Opposition parliamentarian could not represent the Opposition bench without holding consultations with her.
She said neither Rowley nor Ramadhar had consulted her about the issue or sought any advice from her.
Couva North MP, Ramona Ramdial, who was also invited, declined the invitation after consulting her, Persad-Bissessar said.
Also among Rowley’s delegation were Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses and Minister of Legal Affairs Stuart Young.
Rowley described his five-day trip to Jamaica as hectic, exhausting and successful, he having met the business community, University of the West Indies students, academia and government and opposition officials.
Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness had invited Rowley to his country when they first met in Belize.
The invitation was prompted by the seemingly strained trade relationship between the two countries, after Jamaicans, who were deported from T&T, had called for a boycott of T&T goods there.
Rowley said if he had not made the trip to deal with the issue, which was a deteriorating situation, could have resulted in some very undesirable consequences for both countries.
In particular, Rowley said T&T’s capacity could have been faced with challenges within the manufacturing sector here, leading to the possible loss of jobs.
Among the issues discussed during the trip, he said, were the Caricom Single Market and Economy, free movement, security, Caribbean Airlines and the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (Gate).
Some of the businesses Rowley and his delegation met were the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, health services, Foreign Affairs and the Manufacturing Association
He said his trip was to put T&T”s position to Jamaicans to whom some misunderstandings and misrepresentations were advanced from certains quarters.
Rowley said the position of free movement of citizens from across the region came up.
“We discussed at length a requirement for our citizens of our region, governed under the Chaguaramas Treaty, to be properly informed about the conditions under which free movement of citizens exists,” Rowley said.
While there is substantial free movement in the region, Rowley said there were some conditions where the movement could be restricted. He noted that T&T has had to restrict movement of some people to our shores.
Rowley said he was able to speak to some people in Jamaica who were particularly aggrieved, mouth pieces and influence-makers.
He said his Government left Jamaica with the understanding that matter was not behind us.
As leaders of Caricom, he said, both Jamaica and T&T have to set good examples.
He said at the level of the Caricom Single Market and Economy, steps had been taken for a review of work to be done and on work that had been done.
Another eyebrow-raising development, Rowley said, was when they were informed that Jamaica had put in place a committee to review its relationship with Caricom.
“That discussion was the subject of extensive discussions in some quarters,” he said.