PM on withdrawn petition: Cabinet gave no directive to Warner

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday Cabinet issued no directive and reached no agreement on a private move by Works and Infrastructure Minister Jack Warner to collect signatures for a pro-death penalty petition. Warner suspended the petition after at least three Cabinet Ministers, Planning and the Economy Minister Bhoendradatt Tewarie, Arts and Multiculturalism Minister Winston Peters and Tobago Development Minister Vernella Alleyne-Toppin said they would be guided by the collective responsibility of the Cabinet. And at a news conference at the Parliament, Waterfront Complex, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain yesterday Persad-Bissessar said Warner’s petition was not sanctioned by the People’s Partnership Cabinet. She said it would be foolhardy for any minister to sign a petition that was not sanctioned by the Cabinet.

 

Asked what would be the position of the Cabinet if Justice Minister Herbert Volney had signed the petition as he indicated he would. Persad-Bissessar said: “It is an issue of conscience, I guess.” Asked if she could say what caused Warner to discontinue his petition, Persad-Bissessar said she could not “speak for what may have influenced Mr Warner. I have not spoken to him on the matter, so I cannot say what influenced him.” Warner said he decided to discontinue his exercise following Thursday’s Cabinet meeting. Asked if the matter was discussed in the Cabinet, Persad-Bissessar said: “The matters in Cabinet are matters of Cabinet.” Persad-Bissessar insisted Warner’s aborted petition campaign was “not the position of the Government.”