(Trinidad Express) While the country was expecting the long-overdue Local Government election date, Prime Minister Patrick Manning on Saturday went for the whole hog, and called for nominations for candidates for a general election.
Speaking before a massive and highly energised convention crowd, Manning threw the cat among the pigeons, with his instruction to his party to begin the nomination process for the holding of a general election. The screening process is scheduled to begin on April 7 with the Political Leader’s San Fernando East constituency.
Coming one day after the Opposition forces announced that it would contest the People’s National Movement as a single force in any future elections, in a ’one-on-one battle’, a highly confident Manning threw down the gauntlet to the United National Congress, whose leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has moved a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister. The motion is down to be debated on April 9.
’And since they (the Opposition) feel that the time has come for a general election, then I will agree with them. As a consequence of which I now direct the party to commence the nomination-of-candidates exercise for the general election immediately. Screening begins on Wednesday, April 7, in the constituency of San Fernando East,’ he declared, to a burst of thunderous applause.
The party faithful jumped to their feet, as though the Prime Minister had literally announced the general election date.
Before making his bombshell announcement, the Prime Minister spoke in detail of a PNM Government interacting with the people in their communities. He spoke about the number of walkabouts and cottage meetings that he and other MPs were doing. Noting that during these interactions, the people did not put water in their mouths in expressing their concerns and needs, Manning said: ’The PNM is better informed about what is taking place than other any political party, or any journalist for that matter. We have been listening and staying in touch with the people. The PNM is ready.’
The Prime Minister had earlier explained to his convention audience what the UNC parliamentary challenge meant. In the event that the motion of no confidence succeeds, though he did not think this was possible, it would mean that the Prime Minister has one week to tender his resignation and if he failed to do so, the President could dissolve Parliament and usher in a general election, the Prime Minister stated.
Manning indicated that the party would apply to the Commissioner of Police for a permit to hold a public gathering on April 9, in Woodford Square, Port of Spain-the day of the debate.
Manning’s address, delivered in the Chaguaramas Convention Centre, struck strong emotional chords as it painstakingly sought to show how people-centred the PNM’s policies have been.
Manning said when the party lost office in 1995, he walked the length and breadth of the country, asking the population what was the major flaw. He said the message to him was ’as well as you thought you had done, you did not take the views of the people sufficiently into account’. He then asked, rhetorically: ’You think I making that same mistake again?’
Therefore he said the PNM administration, since 2002, began to aggressively tackle issues directly affecting the people.
Contesting the impression given by the Opposition, Manning said when unemployment goes from 16.4 per cent in 1995 to 3.8 per cent, ’ask yourselves, who was employed? Was it not the average citizen of Trinidad and Tobago? And when people tell you that we have done nothing for the people, some accept that as fact. But nothing could be further from the truth’, the Prime Minister said.
Women who were ’forced to go into all kinds of associations’ to feed their children with ’men (who were) coming home drunk on Friday night. He walk with two meals, yuh cook one’, he said mischievously, causing uproar. ’Ladies, I talking the truth, or not?’ he enquired, teasingly. ’Yes!’ they shouted.
Manning said the PNM Government provided employment for these women in CEPEP, work which the Opposition has ridiculed as ’painting stones’. Manning told his audience (and the 6,000 CEPEP workers) that ’if we put God out of their thoughts and let them occupy the corridors of power, one of the first things they would do, I could bet you, is to close the CEPEP programme’. There was loud applause.
He reminded his audience that the UNC closed the OJT programme in 1996. Today 9,000 were involved in OJT, he noted. ’Those who seek political office, what do you think they are likely to do (to OJT) in the face of what they did in 1996?’ he asked, warning at the same time: ’Don’t put God out of your thoughts’ by putting them back into office.
Manning spoke of MUST (Multi Skills Sectoral programme), another people-centred programme which was providing many skills to the unskilled in the country and transforming lives. ’Who did it? he asked. ’The PNM Government,’ the crowd joined him in saying. ’And yet they say the PNM did nothing for the small man,’ he taunted. ’They lie!’ his audience rejoined.
The Prime Minister also reminded his audience that the PNM reduced the level of taxation from 35 per cent to 25 per cent for corporations and personal tax, exempting those making $5,000 or less a month from direct taxation. ’And yet they say the PNM has done nothing for the small man,’ he repeated.
The subsidy on gas meant that ’every time you drive yuh car, you are the beneficiary of the PNM’ Manning noted, quoting figures for both premium and diesel fuel. Diesel, used by maxi-taxis, and which retails at $1.50, would have been sold for $4.50, at oil prices of $70 a barrel, he noted.
He said he had to tell a woman who was complaining that the taxi fare to San Fernando was $7 and consequently that the PNM had done nothing about this gas subsidy. ’Sweetheart… the price you would have had to pay in taxi fare would have been at least twice what yuh paying. Don’t tell meh no dotishness!’ Manning said, recalling his words to the lady.
On CDAP (the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme), he asked the audience to contemplate this: ’Suppose yuh had to pay for medicine you get from CDAP… It is an extra $200, 3, 4, $500 in yuh pocket.’ ’After today,’ he declared, ’if anybody tells you that the PNM has done nothing for the small man, you laugh and you walk away. Just tell me ’stop talking foolishness and leave me alone, please’. There was loud applause.
Manning said he was being accused of arrogance. ’Not true!’ his audience cried. But he said in a country as diverse as this, with so many different points of view, it takes strong and determined leadership to achieve the aspirations of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
’If the leadership is not strong and determined… then at the end of the day when you go to the people and tell them, ’I was not able to do anything for you because A, B and C put pressure on me and I couldn’t do it,’ they (the people) would not accept that. ’Nobody is going to do that to us.’ So you are going to get strong… determined leadership,’ he said.
On the issue of crime, Manning said the level of crime was unacceptable. But he expressed optimism that things were improving. ’We haven’t had a kidnapping for a very long time,’ he noted, adding that the murder rate, though still high, was down by 23 per cent.
He said that the acquisition of specialised vessels, the initial successes in interdicting drugs had created shortages on the local market which could lead to increased fight over turf among gangs, before the murder rate resumes its downward trend.
As the PNM celebrated the life and work of the founding father, Eric Eustace Williams, Manning said the PNM was the only party which updated its vision many times-People’s Charter, Chaguaramas Declaration and Vision 2020. Manning recalled that 39 years ago he met Williams for the first time, when screening was about to take place.
He said Williams gave him every reason why he (Manning) should not enter politics. Manning said he asked Williams if he (Williams) had been in his (Manning’s) position, what he would do. ’He replied, ’You are a party member. The least you could do is make yourself available to the party. If the party wants you, it takes you, if the party don’t want you, it don’t take you.’’ And Manning said, ’Stupid me accepted the advice and here I am today.’
A general election is constitutionally due in November 2012, while Local Government elections are due by October 2010.