Lobby group marches against Kamla

In a bid to catch the ear of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, members of a new lobby group, Concerned National Citizens (CNC), yesterday staged a march through San Fernando, in the pouring rain, to highlight concerns over the stagnation of T&T’s economy. Led by businesswoman Jowelle de Souza, the group marched along Independence Avenue, San Fernando, carrying banners and placards.

One of the placards, emblazoned with the word “Midnight Robber”,  had a cartoon of a woman with a black hat and a wide smile as well as a picture of a bounced cheque payable to Clico policyholders.
Some of the placards read: “Mamma Kamla and Pap Dooks Running T&T Business to a Bust”. Another read: “PP Killing Clico policyholders while Mama Kamla collecting money for Child Fund.” De Souza said the business sector was suffering because there were no investments, no job increases and few business opportunities.

She said a wide cross-section of the population was disgruntled with the performance of the Government.
She said: “People are feeling that the Prime Minister is not being told the truth of what is happening in the nation. “Hope is running thin and we are trying to see how best we can get to the Prime Minister and see what we can do. “We are concerned because our country is so stagnant. What are they doing to develop the economy? They are saying that they building the road to create jobs. This is not enough. We are not seeing business improving,” De Souza added.

Asked what were her recommendations to resuscitate the economy, De Souza said: “They must pay the Clico policyholders because unless the financial system is restored we will not get any growth of the economy.” De Souza also said Persad-Bissessar should do a poll to get the general feedback from the population. She contended that thousands of people were frustrated with the declining economy and the inability of the Government to deal with that problem.