The Opposition PNM is supporting Antigua's proposed candidate for the post of Commonwealth secretary general and has called on the Prime Minister to withdraw T&T's proposed candidate, Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie.
PNM leader Keith Rowley made the call at a media briefing on Monday at the offices of the Opposition, Port-of- Spain.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran last week confirmed there was no decision on the post at the Caricom leaders' Inter-sessional meeting in the Bahamas last month.
Leaders were scheduled to discuss whom– among three Caribbean- born candidates including Tewarie–to support for the post.
Rowley claimed yesterday Tewarie was "relatively unknown in the region and Commonwealth as a diplomat, had no experience in diplomacy and Commonwealth affairs and is a poor candidate". He claimed the only Government supporting Tewarie was T&T's and called on the PM to withdraw the "unsuitable candidate."
Yesterday, Dookeran said he couldn't substantiate if only T&T was supporting Tewarie or who else was, since that was a discussion being done by the leaders.
Rowley claimed nine of the 12 states were supporting Antigua's Ron Sanders. In a statement of his distributed after the media briefing, Rowley said the PNM fully supported Sanders whom he said was the quintessential regional man. He said if T&T didn't have a superior candidate it should have backed another who had support so when T&T needed support on other things, it would receive it.
Accusing Government of nepotism and cronyism on the candidate issue, he said T&T's candidate for the African, Caribbean and Pacific secretary general post Dr Hamid Ghany failed "spectacularly to be elected last year.
Rowley also called on the Prime Minister to clear the air on "what's happening "in Chaguaramas. He said 75 acres were given to a COP member who's now forming a party.
Last year, Rowley complained (now ex–COPer) Joe Pires got land there.""And now we're hearing all kinds of developments in Chaguaramas," Rowley added.
He said the Chaguaramas Development Authority said the Chaguaramas Convention Centre wasn't being sold but was being leased. He said leases were for 30 years in some areas but the CDA was "trying to fool people" by saying "lease" when the issue was "disposal of assets,"
He said the PM, recently answering a question on it, didn't give terms of the lease. On plans for a PNM march in Chaguaramas, Rowley said the PNM would await information on the land issue before finalising its action.
"This Government is a kleptocracy who came to get what T&T has to offer," he claimed. Rowley expressed concern about SIS Ltd using Caroni lands, slamming Lands Minister Jairam Seemungal on that and the Commissioner of State lands.
Saying state institutions were failing, he said he'd waited two years for the police regarding the Emailgate probe and also hadn't heard anything on a probe of racist placards in a PNM march a couple years ago. He voiced similar concern about the judiciary on recent events where former AG Anand Ramlogan had claimed victory in an Emailgate judgment. He said the public was tired of issues concerning the PM, President, judiciary, Police Commissioner and Integrity Commission.