Rosemarie Sant
Is there a stand-off between President Anthony Carmona and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, or have the two met and agreed to settle their public differences behind closed doors?
These are the questions which need to be answered by T&T’s two highest office holders in the interest of moving the country forward, says political scientist Dr Hamid Ghany.
The President and Prime Minister have offered convergent views on a meeting the President had with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon on September 5.
Ghany said both sides need to say something to clarify whether there was a misunderstanding which caused the unfolding scenario. He said it could be that the issue between the two men had been “suspended in the public domain because the Budget is in the fore and it is commandeering the news, but the issue needs to be resolved.”
Head of the Desk of Political Science at UWI Dr Bishnu Ragoonath, said the country may “have to take Dr Rowley’s statement as the last word on the matter” since he does not expect President Carmona to respond.
“Both men had decided to leave the matter alone and to let it die a natural death,” he said.
There is no word on whether the two men have met officially since the matter found its way into the public domain. At a news conference on September 29, Prime Minister Rowley said his last meeting with the President was on August 24.
On Friday, however, the two men were at the funeral service of attorney Allen Alexander, SC, at the St Charles RC Church, Tunapuna, where they shook hands.
How it all Started
In a statement to the media on September 27, President Carmona said he had “always been compliant with the doctrine of the separation of powers and more than aware of my constitutional remit with respect to other branches of the executive and indeed of the Government.”
“On three occasions beforehand, I indicated to the Prime Minister my intention to hold a meeting with the Minister of National Security, in the interest of offering suggestions on certain pertinent issues in this Republic and he supported it,” he said.
However, this was denied by the Prime Minister who told the media on September 29 the first he knew of the planned meeting was on the morning of September 5, the day of the meeting, when he was told by Dillon.
Dr Rowley also took issue with a claim by the President that a “private missive” which he had sent to the Prime Minister had found its way into the press.
“There is a second allegation against me and that is that I have leaked irresponsibly or recklessly, confidential or classified correspondence from the President... I have done no such thing,” he said.