Manning, Panday to talk constitutional reform

PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning and Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday will meet at Whitehall tomorrow, to discuss passage of the Police Reform Bills in Parliament, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CC), integrity legislation and constitutional reform. The meeting was agreed upon during a ten-minute discussion between Manning and Panday behind the Speaker’s Chair at last Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives. Speaking with reporters outside Red House afterwards, Panday outlined the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting.

Panday said he was not surprised by Manning’s overture towards him. “I just hope they (the talks tomorrow) are genuine and I have no reason to believe they will not be. All these matters are about constitutional reform,” he stated. The Opposition has vehemently resisted passage of the Police Reform Bills and CCJ legislation until Government initiates constitutional reform. Last month, the Prime Minister said he would seek a meeting with Panday in order to facilitate passage of the Police Reform Bills in Parliament. The issue of integrity legislation has also been a sore point between the PNM and UNC. Last Thursday, a spokesman for Attorney General John Jeremie said 2,000 copies of the Prescribed Forms and Regulations, for public officials to declare their assets with the Integrity Commission, were being printed and this would cater to people who fell within the net and for officials who wanted the option of filing declarations back for three years.

During Friday’s sitting of the Lower House, Princes Town MP Subhas Panday agreed with Manning that the Constitution should be amended to make the Service Commissions accountable to the population and that it be done in a way to ensure there was no political interference in the Commissions’ activities. “We (UNC) are on the same side as the Member for San Fernando East,” Subhas Panday declared. Ironically, it was the younger Panday’s remarks which led to his brother holding impromptu talks with the Prime Minister behind the Speaker’s Chair. Meanwhile, UNC sources are wondering whether the Opposition Leader’s actions last week were guided in part by the party’s upcoming internal elections in July and whether this meant he was intent on remaining at the helm of the UNC.