To the strains of The Impossible Dream, the tenure of Keith Christopher Rowley was launched on Wednesday bringing the young boy from Mason Hall, Tobago to his political goal, becoming T&T’s seventh Prime Minister.
Rowley, 65, took the oath of office at 1.42 pm at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, Port-of-Spain, swearing on the Bible to uphold office and making an appeal to the public: “...we have a lot to be thankful and greatful for, spend a bit more time enjoying it and looking at the positives of life and less time complaining...”
He called for people to remember who “put us on this path” and what they expected of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government.
Rowley said he was embarking on the current exercise as a responsibility for all the people and he saw his job as getting others to work and ensuring everybody else worked. Trees outside of Queen’s Hall were decorated with bands of red, the PNM’s party colour. But attendees—mainly PNM executive and senior campaign planning officials, some candidates and corporation chairmen and other members of the PNM community—wore neutral colours denoting the new PNM administration’s governance for all. Only a couple women wore red and some gentlemen wore red ties.
Guests included former Senate president Michael Williams, political analyst Selwyn Ryan, PNM stalwart Ferdie Ferreira, national cricketing hero, Brian Lara, Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union president general Ancel Roget, Movement for Social Justice leader David Abdulah and several employees of the Office of the Prime Minister under the past Persad-Bissessar administration including press secretary Francis Joseph and events co-ordinator Lisa Ghany.
Rowley and his wife Sharon—the latter in an ivory lace sheath—sat front row with President Anthony Carmona, his wife Reema and successful PNM candidates Faris Al-Rawi and Edmund Dillon and their spouses.
Prior to taking the oath of office as Al-Rawi sat waiting, he held hands with his wife Mona. His three children, sitting in the audience, also witnessed proceedings.
Former Independent senator Rev Daniel Teelucksingh who opened proceedings, prayed that Rowley would be an instrument of peace.
After the oath of office was administered to Dillon, Al-Rawi and Rowley, a Bishop Anstey Girls’ High School soloist Kelsey Nancoo rendered “The Impossible Dream,” to which several members of the audience briefly nodded their heads, seeming to agree with the lyrics as a portrayal of Rowley’s life and his path to his ultimate goal.
Rowley himself bore a sober expression as the song was rendered. A similar mood pervaded when the choir sang Celine Dion’s The Power of the Dream. Rowley, however, tapped one foot energetically to the beat when the choir broke out David Rudder’s Trini to De Bone.
Rowley in a brief address said he’d often been asked the question why he got into politics because many saw politicians as self serving. He said it was because of the responsibility to the youths of T&T. He recounted that when he taught at St Augustine he often looked at the students and wondered who would look after for them in future. He said he eventually ended up in politics since that those who had made it had a responsibility to those who were coming up.
He thanked his wife for her support as well as those from his boyhood village of Mason Hall, his Diego Martin home base as well as the Seventh Day Adventists whom he said made sure he didn’t go “astray.”