PENNY SAYS OF PNM, 'PARTY COMES FIRST.'

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Pennelope Beckles makes it clear that the party comes first in determining who succeeds Dr Rowley as Prime Minister.  This as the PNM's General Council is due to meet on Saturday on the party's way forward with regard to the appointment of an interim Prime Minister when its political leader resigns as Prime Minister later this year.  Juhel Browne reports.

Transcript

00:00After the inaugural opening of the NCRHA's disaster response site NCD

00:06prevention and retreat center in Blancheshires on Friday, Planning Minister

00:11Penelope Beckels, the MP for Arima, was asked by the media about her challenge

00:16for the leadership of the government when Dr. Keith Rowley demits office.

00:20I have challenged the leadership before. I got the opportunity again to serve in the

00:27cabinet so we understand that you know things like that happen but the critical

00:32thing is that as somebody who has served a very long time starting off in local government, for me the party always comes first.

00:41So we discussed the things as we discussed yesterday and we all look

00:46forward to tomorrow's General Council meeting and the outcome.

00:50Energy Minister Stuart Young, the MP for Port of Spain North, St. Anne's West, shook hands with Minister

00:56Beckels at Balise House after a meeting of elected PNM MPs on Thursday night

01:01and what some commentators have described as only window dressing.

01:06Following a parliamentary caucus in Tobago, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley

01:10had announced on Monday that the majority of the PNM's elected MPs voted

01:14in favor of Minister Young instead of Minister Beckels to be the next Prime

01:18Minister when Dr. Rowley resigns the office later this year before the next

01:23general election. The Express newspaper reported the vote was 11-9.

01:30However, there continue to be media reports that some PNM MPs are yet to sign a letter in

01:34support of Minister Stuart Young. Prime Minister Rowley, the MP for Diggle

01:38Martin West, left Balise House on Thursday night without speaking with the

01:43media. National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hines, the outgoing MP for

01:47Laventille West and Finance Minister Colm Imbert, the Diggle Martin North East

01:51MP, declined to comment about the meeting. At one point, local government

01:55minister Fares Al Rawi, the MP for San Fernando West, appeared before the media

02:00but quickly returned to Balise House. Some time later, he and several other

02:05cabinet members who are PNM MPs emerged from the building led by Minister Young

02:11and walked towards the media in a show of unity. TV6 News was there.

02:19PNM's General Counsel is due to meet on Saturday.

02:50One long-standing member who is also looking forward to the PNM's General

02:58Counsel meeting on Saturday is Jennifer Batiste Primus.

03:03Jennifer Batiste Primus, PNM's General Counsel

03:34On Friday, Health Minister Terence de Alsing had this to say about the PNM.

03:55Asked about claims of ramblings in the PNM, Minister de Alsing said,

04:00There is no war.

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