Opposition MP Padarath slams PM Rowley for his comments on Permanent Secretaries

Trinidad and Tobago: On Tuesday, MP from the Prime Town constituency, Barry Padarath, criticized the Prime Minister. He raised questions over Keith Rowley’s comments on the Permanent Secretaries.

Padarath stated that Prime Minister Rowley has again deflected his and his Cabinet incompetence by pointing out the Permanent Secretaries for failing to provide required goods and services to the residents of Trinidad and Tobago.

Padarath’s comment came following Keith Rowley stated that “Permanent Secretaries coming from the public service are poor managers and are responsible for project delays and inefficiency in the public service.”

While objecting, MP Padarath said that PM Rowley follows a ‘mantra’ of blaming Kamla Persad and the United National Congress (UNC). He said that “UNC had outlived its usefulness for the PNM since the population has wisened up after seven years of Rowley’s failed leadership”.

Now, the Prime Minister has been looking for new scapegoats so that he could blame his government’s failures and lack of delivery & vision.

He further blamed Keith Rowley for demotivating public servants from the past 6 to 7 years. He further claimed that PM has “thrown them under the bus for the state of the economy and referred to them as lazy and unproductive”.

Padarath has reminded the Prime Minister that leadership comes from the higher authorities, and he has done nothing or something to build upon the work. He said that the Padarth, who serves as the Shadow Minister of Public Administration, said that the “Permanent Secretaries under the Persad Bissessar Administration came from the same public service that Rowley is criticizing today.”

The MP added that the Rowley-led government has been trying its best to create a distraction and smokescreen as he sought to shift blame for the problems in the country, including the collapse of the highway, the over 3800 Covid deaths, the collapse of the social sector, the massive unemployment stats and much more on public servants namely Permanent Secretaries.

Padarath further reminded the country that it was Keith Rowley’s government who placed several former Permanent Secretaries on State Boards and in advisory positions at Ministries.