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The following is the full speech of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, delivered after she was sworn in on May 1 at President’s House, St Ann’s:
This evening, we as a nation stand together at the beginning of a new five-year government term.
A five-year term, where the real people of Trinidad and Tobago will be put at the forefront.
I say thank you to GOD and to our citizens of our beloved country. The campaign is over. You know our message of love, care and happiness.
I thank you again for believing our message. I thank you with all my heart.
My role as your newly-elected Prime Minister is simple: it is to love you and to do everything possible to make you and your loved ones happy.
For too long, you have carried the heavy burden of a government that seems to have forgotten you.
It is time we rise to the occasion and let citizens take their rightful place side by side with their new Government.
It is said, "To whom much is given, much is expected."
We, as a nation and a people, have been blessed with much, and admittedly, we have also wasted much, unfortunately.
It is time we set Trinidad and Tobago on a right path, where we cease to govern to simply win the next general election and instead govern to create wealth and opportunities for seven generations into the future.
In these circumstances, we must do better, we must be more innovative, we must create meaningful opportunities, and do right by all people so that we all, united as a Nation, can step boldly into the future with confidence.
I know that we have to be strategic, we have to be inclusive, we have to be dedicated, and we have to be focused on becoming the best versions of ourselves.
This day starts the journey to rebuild our economy, restore our security, revolutionise our access to technology, diversify our revenue streams and renew our people's hope, faith and confidence to propel our beloved nation forward.
Some of the seeds we will plant in this five-year journey will blossom into trees whose fruit we may not eat, but our children, grandchildren, and the generations to come will certainly eat that fruit.
Our highest priority will be not just to communicate with you, but to commune with you.
I will never be detached from your feelings and aspirations.
I will never do my own thing while the country cries out for their needs.
I will always be listening. I will be following you.
You will be my priority. You must always know that you have leaders who cares and understands your problems.
I understand how many of you who have been forgotten feel.
After demitting the office of the Prime Minister in 2015, for the last ten years, I was a woman scorned, a pariah to many, because in their eyes, I had nothing material to give.
For ten years, my companionship was a photo of my mother hanging on the wall in my office and my husband and children and indeed the loyal UNC rank and file members because they loved me for me and not for what I could give. Then I had friends who came and who never left for all these years.
I know how it feels to be forgotten, I know how it feels to be humiliated and written off.
I know how it feels to be kicked and stomped on when you’re down.
And that is how I know that it was the poorest and humblest people who came to my aid in those ten hard years, while others had their foot on my neck. The old guard dies, but I want to know: we never ever surrender.
To my incoming MPs, senator’s and government representatives. I have said on the campaign trail that patriotism for the UNC is ensuring that everybody is treated fairly.
Patriotism is ensuring everybody wins, and that means those who supported other political parties in the elections will also win with us.
Patriotism for me doesn't mean allowing the majority of citizens to suffer while a greedy few do better and better.
For me, patriotism means speaking up, having a voice, it means not staying silent to eat ah food while the poor and working classes are being abused or taken advantage of.
Therefore, if you, as government representatives, treat the citizens with love, I will reflect that love onto you.
I say this to my incoming government members: however, if you treat the citizens with callousness, contempt, and corrupt ways, I guarantee you retribution will be swift and brutal.
Never ever mistake my physical appearance or my kindness for weakness.
I think you all know there is nothing more dangerous than a mother who believes her children are in danger. Everyone would be wise to remember that for the next five years.
To some fake elites and eat-ah food financiers who have looted this country for the last ten years, democracy may be imperfect, but once every five years, no matter your wealth or status, everyone is equal on election day.
Beyond the lighthouse in Port of Spain, there is a country with real people.
Real people with real feelings, dreams, and ambitions. We are people, too; this is our country, too.
That is why I dedicate my term as Prime Minister to the forgotten people of our country.
If you are living on the fringes of the Guanapo, if you are living in the coconut estates in Icacos, if you are in Kernahan village in the Nariva swamp, on the coastline in Charlotteville, Tobago or in the lagoons of Barrackpore, I see you, we see you, every single one.
If you are UNC, TPP, PNM or any other affiliation, I see you.
You will be treated equally and fairly.
I made a promise that everybody will win, and I plan to fulfil that promise.
On Saturday, we will swear in our full cabinet, and next week, we will outline our plans for the coming months.
Six months from today, under a new UNC Government, you will be in a safer and happier place in Trinidad and Tobago.
You will see what happens when a government cares.
We will work to make you and your lives better. That is our promise to you.
We have done it before, and with your help, we will do it again.
Some may have treated the people of our land like problems, but I know that the people of our land are the solution.
We have a real plan, and we are ready to deliver.
In the next five years, you are taking back your future. You are defending your family.
You are standing up for every community that has been abandoned.
You are fighting for every child who deserves better.
We will rebuild hope.
We will rebuild dignity.
We will rebuild Trinidad and Tobago person by person, community by community, heart by heart. Trinidad and Tobago is too blessed to be broken.
As I close, I leave citizens with words from the holy bible: First Peter, Chapter three, verses eight to twelve:
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
I say to you all, it is time to turn pain into power.
It is time to turn frustration into action.
It is time to choose courage over fear.
It is time to choose harmony over division.
It is time to choose hope over despair.
So, join me on this journey as we deliver on our promises so we all win together. Everything is going to be alright.
Finally, you have had Prime Ministers before me, you will have Prime Ministers after me, but guess what, you will never ever have a Prime Minister who loves you as much as I do.
God bless you all. Thank you.
The post PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s full speech after swearing in appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.