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THE Prime Minister on Friday at the launch of the Diego Martin-Westmoorings interchange deeply thanked people who have helped the incremental development of this country by their voluntary service on State boards such as the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) which oversaw this construction project.
The $185 million project was done built by China Railway and Junior Sammy and forms a link to facilitate traffic between Diego Martin and Westmoorings, with a feeder from Victoria Keys apartments at Cocorite.
Dr Rowley traced the gradual development of Diego Martin from being a cocoa plantation, while recalling myriad objections the Government has had to overcome to its developmental initiatives.
"It have some people in this country, if you tell them the Angel Gabriel is coming for Christmas, they will have a problem with the date that you pick. But so it is.
"You have to believe in what is right and what is good. Give them an opportunity to vent themselves but also stand firm in what you believe."
He warned people to beware of misinformation such as an allegation the project cost $2 billion when in fact it cost under $200 million.
Saying someone complained about possible traffic congestion from the commissioning ceremony, he asked how do you please everyone.
"I want to invite all of you to accept that development comes to this country on an ongoing basis and our country is a place you should be proud of, especially if you live in the west and you live in Diego Martin." He said the interchange was a light for the whole of Diego Martin which he said was the best place to live in Trinidad and Tobago.
"What I have been most proud of during my period as MP was to have been here to see the transformation of Diego Martin from wherever it was to the newest borough in TT."
The PM boasted that competitive tendering was how the Government had been able to keep costs down on such projects, in contrast to many hundreds of millions of dollars in extra cost cited by others in the past. "There is nobody in the Government who has an interest to making something on the project. We have one interest and that is Trinidad and Tobago."
Rowley thanked Nidco chairman Herbert George and his team on the board.
"People who agreed to serve on a board, to give volunteer service, to give their expertise, to guide the process and the projects, to ensure the contractor performs, to ensure they get the Ministry of Finance to perform, to get the Ministry of Works and Transport to perform.
"Together the national teamwork develops a nation. That's how a nation is developed.
"That's how our children get to school, that's how our elderly people get to live in decent housing, that's how you get to drive on the road safely and that is how you get value for money for the few dollars that you earn."
The PM said some persons encourage others to think TT was the worst place to live and the Government was falling short.
"None of us is perfect, and the job of living is not completed until you are dead."
He said national development was an ongoing process and he was proud the Government was always there contributing to this.
In that area, development had begun with a walkover and now had the interchange linking Victoria Keys to West Mall. Rowley urged drivers to use the interchange with care.
"All that it is left for us to do as a people is to say to ourselves we live in one of the better places of the world.
"It is a privilege and an honour to call TT home and ours. We stand without genuflecting to anyone. There are days like these when there are more positives than negatives.
"I wish you Merry Christmas and I wish you more experiences of development in TT."
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