PM
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is doubling down on his decision to place the steelpan on T&T’s Coat of Arms and is strongly rubbishing dissenting voices who say such a move would alienate citizens of Indian descent.
He also dismissed a suggestion from historian Dr Jerome Teelucksingh that the tassa should also be included to reflect this country’s ethnic diversity.
“Anybody saying that is either wicked, ignorant or doesn’t know the history of this country!” PM Rowley declared while speaking at PNM’s tenth Annual Constituency Conference for the constituency of La Horquetta/Talparo at the HDC Village Plaza Car Park, La Horquetta, last evening.
Following his announcement that Christopher Columbus’ three ships would be replaced by the steelpan, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar urged caution, saying it could ignite racial tensions.
“Go on Facebook, endless race talk, go in the papers, you will see them say steelpan is African. So let me educate you,” Dr Rowley said.
The Prime Minister then listed several prominent figures in the pan fraternity of East Indian descent. He noted Bobby Mohammed, who led the Guiness Cavaliers to Panorama titles in 1965 and 1967.
“Who here didn’t hear about Jit Samaroo and the Samaroo family?” he asked the crowd.
“So what you coming to tell me is that if you name the pan as the national instrument, the Indian population will be left out?” he asked incredulously.
Dr Rowley said it would not be proper to put an instrument such as the tassa on the Coat of Arms because it is not indigenous to T&T.
He said he was shocked to know this suggestion came from “an intellectual.”
“The singular reason why the steelpan is our national instrument is because it is indigenous to us! The tabla is not an originating instrument from here, it came from India, Saxophone came from Germany, the Guitar from Spain, so they cannot, no matter how often you play them, no matter how much you love the music, you cannot claim them as a national instrument,” he explained.
He added, “So all those who said it should be paired with other instruments you loss, because the only indigenous instrument in Trinidad and Tobago is the steelpan.”
Dr Rowley also trained his guns on university lecturers who offered their opinions on the issues in the national domain.
He said those people are expected to raise the national discourse but instead give out “misinformation, tomfoolery and downright incompetence.”
The Prime Minister said party discussions on the effectiveness of the Constitution started in 2019 and were not done on a whim due to an upcoming general election.
He took issue with one lecturer who said the report from the recently held national Constitution consultations should be shelved due to a lack of Opposition input.
The Prime Minister said, “Because the Government is doing it, there are mischievous people who want to label it a PNM exercise. The doors were wide open, we invited all entities and stakeholders. What we did notice was the Opposition party decided they were not responding to the invitation.”
He said what “galled” him was that one such lecturer did not even look at the PNM’s special convention on Sunday but still offered his opinion on the matter.
The Prime Minister said if that lecturer, who teaches politics and is paid by tax dollars, did not take the time to research the topic, then they should be fired from the university.
Also speaking at the constituency conference was the area’s Member of Parliament (MP) Foster Cummings, who said he is aware that like in 2020, the United National Congress (UNC) is attempting to buy the votes of constituents with handouts.
Cummings said UNC members were attempting to woo voters in Phase I, La Horquetta, with school supplies. He reminded those in attendance that in 2020, the gifts from the UNC included stoves, fridges, and mattresses. To the amusement of the crowd, he loudly urged them to take whatever the UNC gives them but come election day, vote resoundingly for the PNM.
La Horquetta/Talparo is considered a marginal constituency. In 2020, Cummings received around 55 per cent of the votes while UNC candidate Jearlean John got 44 per cent. The UNC only held the seat once between 2010-2015.