Works Minister Jack Warner says he is a lucky man not to have been embraced by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in recent weeks. He said so during a visit to Sea Lots, Port-of-Spain, to witness a dredging exercise to reduce flooding in the area. He was accompanied by permanent secretary Cheryl Blackman. He said: "Whenever a Prime Minister embraces you, it is normally a kiss of death and I am fortunate the Prime Minister has not embraced me lately," Warner said in an interview with reporters after the visit. He was responding to a Sunday Guardian article last weekend, which claimed Warner's Transport portfolio was taken away because of the perception he was more popular than Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Warner said he had no evidence to support the rumour but it was in the public domain. He said he was not unduly worried about the rumour, saying he was not losing any sleep or hair over it. He admitted hearing the rumour "for a long time," He said: "it will not bother me. It has not prevented me from doing my work." He added that the media should investigate it. He said he was aware that "when you do good deeds, your good deeds don't go unpunished and if for some reason I have to be punished for my good deeds, then so be it." Asked how was it affecting relations within Cabinet, Warner said he maintained a professional conduct. He said: "You do what you have to do and (then) leave. After I do what I have to do I leave. I don't party and drink and mingle too much."
He then repeated that the rumours were in the public domain "and until such time that I have any strong evidence, then I will know what I have to do but I don't have any (evidence) as yet." Warner said his work was at a standstill because he was not aware of the schedule of the Works portfolio. He said other ministers, including the Transport Minister Devant Maharaj, was in a similar position. He said the ministers were now unable to function properly. "Until we know what our schedules and programmes are, we are literally at a standstill," Warner added. He said the financial cost to realign the ministers was "tremendous and I sincerely hope it is not an exercise that you would have to go back and undo. It will cost us some millions well," Warner insisted.
He said he was told that Works must deal with works and infrastructure. "What that means, I really don't know. I don't know what infrastructure means at this point, though I have asked," he added. In response to further questions Warner said when the Prime Minister was ready with the complete schedule of realigned portfolios she would inform the ministers. Asked if he was a disappointed man, Warner said: "It doesn't prevent me from serving." He said service had not to do with him being a minister of Government. "You don't have to be a minister to serve. You don't have to be in several boards to serve. If you want to serve you can serve and I have been doing that for a long time," Warner added.