Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has described the Opposition’s motion of No Confidence brought against National Security Minister Stuart Young as misdirected, saying he takes personal responsibility as leader of the government, for how the country has chosen to manage the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joining the debate in the House of Representatives on Monday afternoon, Dr. Rowley said the Opposition’s criticism of government’s handling of the pandemic had the potential to incite citizens to disregard the Public Health Regulations in place to mitigate the virus spread.

“This motion is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial,” the PM said

Speaking prior to the PM, the National Security Minister  defended his management of the country’s exemption process.

Referencing similar policy positions by countries including Canada and New Zealand, Minister Young reiterated that a careful management of the return of citizens remains critical to ensuring the public healthcare system is not overburdened in responding to the pandemic.

In laying the Motion, Opposition Leader focused largely on Minister Young’s handling of exemptions and last year’s controversial meeting with Venzuela’s VP Delcy Rodriguez, as reasons the Minister must be relieved of his role.

On the issue of exemptions she said: “Minister Young used the defence of the Vienna Convention, however, this is grasping at straws, as several countries have imposed state quarantine measures across the board. The Minister’s defence is weak, particularly given that the country was told that International Election Observers were unable to monitor the August 10^th General Election due to Trinidad and Tobago’s quarantine requirements.  Why did this privilege not apply then?”