PAULA OUT AS PRESIDENT?

THERE is growing speculation that Paula-Mae Weekes would not be reappointed President of Trinidad and Tobago. 

That conjecture heightened with President Weekes’ stinging Independence Day message, in which she said the country is “at a crossroads” and is “a restless nation,” 

She stated that the “initial impression” is that T&T “is one of a wilderness” with “increasingly brazen criminality, ugly divisive politics, rampant unemployment, distressing reports of child abuse and troubling poverty.” 

She declared that this state of affairs is “not what the architects of our independence intended and envisaged six decades ago…” 

The President reflected on the better circumstances that existed “not too long ago” that made T&T “the envy of our Caribbean neighbours.” 

The unusually hard-hitting address is being seen as a sharp rebuke of the Dr. Keith Rowley administration that sponsored her as Head of State on March 19, 2018. 

With Ms. Weekes’ five-year term coming to an end within the next few months, there is increasing talk along the corridors of power that she would not see a second term. 

Several names of possible successors, including a former Central Bank Governor, are being bandied about. 

Mr. Weekes, 63, a retired Appeal Court justice, was a surprise choice when she was named the country’s sixth president. 

She succeeded fellow jurist Anthony Carmona, a nominee of the Kamla Persad-Bissessar Government who was also a single-term president. 

In her maiden address she acknowledged serious national problems and said: “As your servant, I promise to work tirelessly … to be a light and to spread light of others at every opportunity.” 

She promised to meet citizens to discuss ideas “to improve our quality of life.” 

But President Weekes has remained largely silent on raging national issues throughout her term of office. 

She is seen by many as a frequent international traveller. 

She has also been involved in a few controversies, including a meeting with a “senior government official” pertaining to the nomination of a commissioner of police. 

A President is appointed by the Electoral College, which is comprised of the 41 Members of Parliament and 31 Senators. 

A nominee must be a citizen of T&T and at least 35 years old.