PNM MPs have taken a turn after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar's credibility regarding the NP contract issue and the Tunapuna house where Persad-Bissessar stayed before and after last year's election. PNM's Pat McIntosh and Amery Browne, as well as temporary senator Mariano Browne, also spoke about the issue at Piggott's Corner in Belmont on Wednesday. MP Browne said the Prime Minister's credibility has been taking a beating and sinking lower on various issues from the Reshmi Ramnarine/SIA matter to the farmers' eviction and the Mary King matter.
He said the NP/house issue was the latest. Browne said there were too many excuses and cover-ups from the Prime Minister and Government. "When one has to read an explanation to the media from a piece of paper (on Tuesday), it's not credible," he said. McIntosh said the PP Government was taking the population for "foolish people..." "And we are not foolish!" she added.McIntosh said there had been a "lot of deception" on the Government's part. She asked how the population was to believe that a bidder for the $40 million NP contract might not be the preferred bidder after the Prime Minister had stayed in the person's house for a length of three months.
"And you want us to believe you don't know anything about it?!...you must have known about it," McIntosh added, saying the Government could not "push anything down the public's throat." Senator Browne said the public was judging the Government's performance on "missteps," "mistakes," "misinformation," "mishaps" and other faux pas. He said the Government had a lot of explaining to do especially on the NP/Tunapuna house issue. "Because the issues don't add up at all," he added.
Browne said concerns on the issue were mounting since the Prime Minister had admitted to a relationship of "friend" status with the owner of a Tunapuna house where she stayed for free and whose company was reported to be bidding for the NP contract. "Tell us exactly what is the position," Browne called on Persad-Bissessar. Mariano Browne and McIntosh also took the NP/house issue to the public at a "Town Hall" meeting at Belmont Junior Secondary school last night where members of the public commented on this and other aspects of the Government's performance.