By SEAN DOUGLAS Saturday, October 24 2009

FORMER trade minister, Ken Valley, on Thursday leapt to the defence of Diego Martin West MP, Dr Keith Rowley, against claims by Prime Minister Patrick Manning that Rowley had a bad temper, which caused him to react like a “raging bull.”

Manning made the allegations against Rowley as he spoke in support of embattled State company, Udecott, on Wednesday in the Lower House during debate on a Bill to validate the Uff Commission of Inquiry into Udecott.

Rowley had immediately denied them, and referred reporters to former colleagues to vouch for him.

Ken Valley, who had been a Manning loyalist during Rowley’s challenge for the PNM leadership in 1986, on Thursday batted for Rowley.

Valley, speaking to Newsday, said, “I always worked well with Dr Rowley.

I never had any problem with him, going back to 1986. I never had any problem with Dr Rowley”. He said Rowley was an excellent platform speaker.

“I never had any problem with Dr Rowley,” he reiterated.

Former agriculture minister, Jarrette Narine, at first told Newsday he had no comments to make about Monday’s sitting of Parliament, as he was now completely out of politics.

However when pressed as to whether he had ever had any problem with Rowley being a bully, he said, “I had no problem with any of my colleagues in Cabinet — neither the Prime Minister nor Dr Rowley, nor any of my (other) Cabinet colleagues”.

Former minister in the Ministry of Community Development Eulalie James, said she did not want to discuss the issue, but said, “I believe in time it will be resolved”. And former minister in the Ministry of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds, also disagreed with Manning’s description of Rowley.

Hinds said, “Everyone knows Dr Rowley is my good friend. As a sober and objective person, I found Dr Rowley to be a bright, analytical, incisive and fair-minded man, driven by principle. Those are the reasons I have nurtured a friendship with him and kept it to this day.

I also observed that when he interfaced with colleagues — from General Council to parliamentary caucus — he commanded the respect of everyone, from Political Leader to the last-joined PNMite”.

Hinds added that Dr Rowley — like other intellectuals such as Dr Eric Williams and CLR James — has little patience for foolishness.

Rejecting Manning’s charges, Hinds said, “I’ve never seen those things, and my respect for him endures. I’m sure all my colleagues in the Government, old and new, — perhaps secretly — hold similar respect for Dr Rowley”.