00:00Dr. Rowley explained to media that EMBD filed a complaint with the court alleging that individuals
00:07colluded with other persons, including a former government minister and former EMBD officials,
00:14in an unlawful conspiracy that led to the awarding of 12 contracts and the payment of
00:20$300 million for defective and overpriced work.
00:26Indian leader Kamala Prasad Bisesa has said the latest allegations raised by the EMBD
00:31are part of a racist campaign strategy to suggest all Indians are thieves.
00:37However, Dr. Keith Rowley has sought to assure that East Indians in Trinidad and Tobago have
00:43no need to fear the government, adding that this was a particularly offensive comment
00:48made by Mrs. Prasad Bisesa.
00:51Scholar and historian Dr. Jerome Tluxing says this country has a habit of using race
00:57as a trump card.
00:58It would be, you know, amiss of me to say that we have a history in Trinidad and Tobago
01:06of race being part of election campaigns, being part of the mudslinging, the smear campaigns.
01:16And it's not just race.
01:18It's also class and religion.
01:21All these issues come.
01:23So it's not unique.
01:26It wouldn't be the first time.
01:27It wouldn't be the last time.
01:29So I think it's something that the public has become accustomed to with the issue of
01:35race being imposed on a campaign which is already so intense.
01:43Dr. Tluxing shared his perspective on the implications of the EMBD claims.
01:49He questioned the timing of these new allegations, asking why have they now been raised when
01:55the country is gearing up for elections?
01:57When asked for his view on the prime minister's attempt to distance his administration from
02:02the EMBD claims, Dr. Tluxing had this to say.
02:06It is difficult because the EMBD is not an independent institution.
02:12Any state institution that comes up with these allegations, it's obviously that it will be
02:19pointing fingers to the government.
02:21So I think this is where we run a very tricky situation.
02:27We are on a slippery slope where these new allegations are coming up from a state institution
02:32in an election year.
02:33Dr. Tluxing tells TV6 that the campaigning period for the next general election will
02:40be a long one.
02:41I think we have a long fight ahead.
02:45It's going to be an election that will be dragged on for the next few months.
02:53It's going to be a very intense campaign and it's going to be even more intense for the
02:58two major parties because we have these so-called smaller political parties also appealing to
03:07the voters.
03:08Nicole M Romany, TV6 News.
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