Khan remains as chairman of PNM and MP for Ortoire/Mayaro

Franklin Khan who resigned yesterday as Minister of Works and Transport will remain as chairman of the PNM, and the parliamentary representative for Ortoire/ Mayaro. This was revealed by a Cabinet Minister who confirmed that Prime Minister Manning met early yesterday with Khan at his official residence in St Ann’s, and accepted his resignation as Minister of Works and Transport. Following that meeting,  Manning held an impromtu meeting with some of his advisors and informed them of Khan’s resignation.

The impact of the resignation and other issues relating to the future of the PNM were also discussed. When Newsday called the PM’s residence we were told that the PM was resting, and could not be disturbed. Khan, was reported to be at his Mayaro beach house yesterday with his wife Laura, and two close relatives. Calls to Khan’s cell phone and Mayaro home went unanswered.

The Cabinet source told Newsday that Khan was advised to resign in the interest of the PNM. Some sources in the PNM said that the resignation of the minister came as a shock since they felt that the matter involving him and Dansam Dhansook, the man who made allegations against Khan, was rectified. However, one senior minister said that while the resignation could hurt the PNM, in the long term it will prove that the PNM is a party of integrity. The source pointed out that Khan did the “honourable thing.” Efforts to contact Dhansook proved futile.