PNM: Country heading down slippery slope

The country is heading down a slippery slope to becoming a banana republic. So said chairman of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Franklin Khan at yesterday’s media conference following its general council meeting at Balisier House, Port-of-Spain. He said the general council was “totally absorbed” by the happenings over the last few days about Section 34 of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act 2011.

Khan said the PNM would not sit idly by and “let this thing blow over.” The general council adopted several resolutions, one of which was a call for the immediate resignations of Justice Minister Herbert Volney and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan. Khan said political leader Dr Keith Rowley will today give the party’s response “to this sordid affair” at a meeting in Point Cumana, Diego Martin.

“When we take this sordid affair and stack it up against the crime rate in the country...you stack it up against our dropping in the competitiveness index in the United Nations and more importantly, our continuous decline in terms of the corruption perception index, ladies and gentlemen, under the People’s Partnership Government, Trinidad is fast becoming a banana republic.”

Meanwhile, PNM public relations officer Faris Al-Rawi said there were absolutely no explanations about the controversial Section 34 by any government member in the Upper and Lower Houses. He said the only people who spoke in the Senate during the debate was Ramlogan. “There are 15 people sitting opposite us and one person spoke. “That must say to you something,” he said.