00:00We, as a caucus of the PNM in the House, we discussed at length and we, in the end, came
00:11up with a situation where the entire PNM caucus is in support of Member of Parliament Stuart
00:19Young.
00:20Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley said after he'd emit office, the next step would be made
00:26by the President.
00:28As you would know, once a vacancy arises with respect to the appointment of a Prime Minister,
00:34it falls to the President to respond to that by making an appointment of the person who,
00:43in the President's view, commands the majority in the House.
00:49And those provisions exist in Section 76 of the Constitution.
00:54But why Minister Young?
00:55Dr. Rowley said Minister Young has distinguished himself over the years.
01:01Minister Young has been in government now for, this is going into our 10th year, operating
01:07out of the office of the Prime Minister where he would have seen the government close up
01:12and would have participated in the government.
01:14I have seen him at work on many very detailed and technical assignments and he has not only
01:24done the job but has distinguished himself.
01:27I have worked very closely with Minister Young and while many other members of the Cabinet
01:33could also have been considered, I have no doubt that Minister Young's experience, his
01:39dedication and his commitment to the people of Trinidad and Tobago will ensure that during
01:46the period that he has the responsibility for being Prime Minister, he will continue
01:51to put the people of Trinidad and Tobago's interests first and his competence and experience
01:56will allow us to get the best of an officer in that position.
02:00A PNM convention will take place where Minister Young's appointment will be discussed.
02:07A convention will take place in the PNM and we have discussed it at the earliest and the
02:14earliest that we expect to have that convention is the end of September.
02:20I think it's September 20th, it was last Sunday in September, that's the 28th I think it is?
02:27I think it's the 28th, September 28th.
02:30So that would allow the party members to weigh in and of course in the meantime we would
02:37have dealt with the vacancy that would have been created and the Presidential appointment
02:41deals with that.
02:42Minister Young in a Facebook post thanked the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his
02:47colleagues for the confidence they expressed in him.
02:50He said, quote, I would like to sincerely thank my parliamentary colleagues for the
02:55confidence they have expressed in me.
02:58I also thank Dr Keith Rowley MP, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for
03:05his continued and exemplary leadership in guiding us through a historic process.
03:12I am proud to be a member of the People's National Movement and look forward to working
03:17tirelessly not only with all our members but also with all citizens of Trinidad and
03:23Tobago as we continue working towards the building of our country and ensuring its future
03:29success end quote.
03:31Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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