Manning calls Ganga, Manohar ‘racist’

Prime Minister Patrick Manning accused the Opposition of racism and said the past showed that PNM policies were right, as he championed his Budget, wrapping up debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Manning slammed the contributions of Chaguanas MP, Manohar Ramsaran, and Caroni East MP, Ganga Singh. He said: “None made a contribution as disgraceful and malicious as the member for Caroni East, closely followed by the contribution of the member for Chaguanas. Both will go down in the history of Parliament as two of the worst and most racist. You may feel you are scoring political points, but you are dividing society on the basis of race. Experiences in other parts of the world show that those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. It was painful to listen to what some of them (Opposition) had to say. I could see right through them. Their intent was clear.”

Manning also slammed Leader of the Opposition, Basdeo Panday, who he said had missed most of the Budget debate, which he dubbed “a great discourtesy to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.” In contrast, Manning commended St Joseph MP Gerard Yetming and St Augustine MP Winston Dookeran saying, even if he didn’t agree with them, he recognised their sincerity. Replying to Opposition claims that the Government had no vision, Manning said the PNM had held widespread consultation within and outside the party over its years in Opposition to create its Vision 2020 document. Manning contrasted the PNM’s past performance — especially its then-disputed decision to establish Point Lisas Industrial Estate — to that of the former NAR and UNC governments. He said that the PNM even at party-group level had long predicted that the Trickle-down Theory of Economics as touted by Reaganomics and Thatcherism did not work.

He said he had taken the Ministry of Finance portfolio to effect a spending shift towards the social sector, and suceeded. The Government, he said, was now seeking to increase social expenditure, and hoped to target social “hotspots,” mainly in the East-West Corridor. “Next year we will ensure the social programmes are more efficient and have a completely national reach.” Saying the country would see accelerated rates of development, Manning foresaw full-employment within  three years. “This fiscal year the Government will be embarking on this plan for full employment in three years.”