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THE Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) is not satisfied with the Prime Minister's announcement of a rollback of restrictions to allow more businesses to reopen during the covid19 pandemic.
On Saturday, Dr Rowley announced that car dealerships and all manufacturing will reopen on Monday.
He also announced the long anticipated reopening of restaurants and other food establishments, inlcuding street food, takes place on July 19, but for limited services only (takeout, deliveries, drive throughs, curbside pickup). On the same day, people who want to engage in outdoor exercise will be allowed to do so, but only in numbers not exceeding five.
At a virtual news conference on Sunday, MSJ political leader David Abdulah said, "That is a positive step but that is not good enough." Abdulah said hundreds of thousands of people in TT have been suffering for over a year.
He told Rowley, "You are not suffering."
Abdulah accused the Government of being slow to respond to the concerns of people whose livelihoods have been affected because of covid19.
"The Government has been operating like molasses."
After claiming that covid19 measures like the salary relief grant and income support grants have not been reaching the people who need them fast enough, Abdulah said Government has to do something now, even if that meant withdrawing money from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund.
He questioned what Rowley meant at Saturday's briefing when he spoke about "build back better".
Abdulah said this was an popular phrase used by United States President Joe Biden and other world leaders before. In the TT context, Abdulah asked if Rowley was referring to building back a system which favours an elite few in society at the expense of the majority of the population.
He also said the Opposition UNC had no right to claim the moral high ground on this or any other matter because during the People's Partnership administration from 2010 to 2015, it also actively encoruaged polices that "sees more gain for the few and more pain for the many."
Abdulah said while the national pie has become smaller over the duration of the pandemic, the slice of that pie which the elites get "is not getting any smaller."
He also wondered if Rowley had tossed the work of Roadmap to Recovery team, launched last year to develop strategies to help TT survive and thrive in a post-covid19 world, into the Gulf of Paria or into a filing cabinet somewhere.
Abdulah ssuggested Government hold discussions with the Cuban government about the possibility of establishing a bio-tech centre in TT which could manufacture vaccines to treat covid19 and other illnesses.
Abdulah said such as centre could create sustainable jobs locally and its products could be exported to Latin America and the Caribbean.
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