Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has admitted that objections to the construction of the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the $7 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension Project has been her biggest challenge this year. Persad-Bissessar said so in an interview following her annual Children's Christmas Gift Presentation at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima yesterday.
Persad-Bissessar said she felt "the recent issue with the highway was a major challenge but it came at midterm." She said it was during the midterm that "you do find a Government maybe less popular at the start but we have another half of our term to go."
Environmentalist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh staged a three-week hunger strike outside the PM's Office in St Clair, demanding that an independent technical review be done on the segment of the highway. Government last week met with the Joint Consultative Council and other civil groups and agreed that a technical review be done by a committee to be chaired by Independent Senator James Armstrong. It has two months to complete its report and make recommendations.
Persad-Bissessar said now that the Government had "crossed that bridge of a very troubling and emotional issue, while making the hard decision for the development of our country, I think I am well on my way to a greater second half of my term." The PM said her ministers have now settled down into government and will do better in the coming months and years.
"So the regret is I wish I could do more. I wish we could bring the crime down," the PM insisted. She said, however, that she was only human. Thousands of children, ranging from babies to teenagers, were presented with gifts during the event for constituents from eastern constituencies. Today she hosts a similar event for constituencies in western Trinidad at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.