Paolo Kernahan
KEITH ROWLEY returned to TT just in time for the ceremony marking the "functional completion" of the central block of the PoS General Hospital. Functional completion in construction terms means a building that’s ready for use. Compelling video evidence shows the central block is nowhere near fit for occupation – an old political trick.
The opening was likely rushed to keep pace with the Prime Minister’s tight resignation schedule. The semi-expired PM used the made-for-media moment to hard-sell the "stellar accomplishments" of his administration in TT’s healthcare. This he did after returning from California where he’s been receiving healthcare for more than 20 years. Go figure.
In lengthy remarks which made no distinction between podium and political platform, Dr Rowley again invoked the litany of consequences should the imperilled Dragon gas deal with Venezuela get swept up in the manic convulsions of the new US White House/madhouse. At the moment, President Donald Trump and his enablers are preoccupied with trade wars, disordering the new world order, and selling Teslas on the White House front lawn.
Eventually, though, the administration will turn its gaze to Venezuela and, minorly, the Caribbean Basin. Trump has never hidden his determination to unravel the work of his predecessor, Joe Biden. His US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has already telegraphed the end to all Biden-era oil and gas licences in that South American nation.
This directive is in keeping with their goal of the continued isolation of Venezuela and furtherance of US global hegemony. The fragility of those licences was well understood long before a second Trump presidency was even contemplated.
Still, Rowley again warned, as if we got here on our own, that we’re in dangerous waters with the cross-border deal should it not go to plan, saying, "...then you know your coo coo is cooked." By "your" he means us. He’s already feathered his nest with a generous pension calculated on an increased salary, burnished nicely with a healthy back pay.
Ratcheting up the dread further, Dr Rowley spun another proverb: “...you will have to cut your suit to suit your cloth.” It’s worth reminding that Rowley is the one with the oft-advertised penchant for expensively tailored Savile Row suits – the trappings of success without the undergirding achievements.
The PM and others in his cabinet have consistently conveyed the idea that citizens of this country are spoiled by the excesses oil and gas afforded us; Trinis have nurtured tastes for the decadence of nuts, dates, Mercedes and BM-dubyas. This reflects the detachment politicians have from the citizenry. Rowley has never understood that the majority of people in this country live either modestly or month to month.
The idea that we, as a people, are living the life of Riley is ridiculous. Perhaps, though, politicians like Rowley relate more closely to the well-heeled in society since they draw actual capital from the wealthy while extracting political capital from the disposable
