Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to revoke the appointment of Makeda Antoine as this country’s Ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva.
Speaking at the UNC’s Monday night meeting in at the St Helena Hindu Primary School, Persad-Bissessar said Antoine’s only qualification for the position is that “she is PNM.” The appointment she said “reeks of political patronage.”
Declaring that Antoine had “no foreign affairs or diplomatic experience,” Persad-Bissessar said “the appointment of such an inexperienced individual to such a significant foreign mission is not only a cause for concern but one that will “surely weaken this country’s dialogue, position and respect in global affairs.”
She said by virtue of her position, Antoine will be this country’s “ex-officio ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, the World Health Organisation, the International Labour Organisation as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.”
If he fails to do so she said: “I shall treat with this matter in a different forum outside of Trinidad and Tobago to protect the international image of our country.”