Gov’t once again seeks Opposition support

Government plans to approach the Opposition again for its support in passing tougher legislation aimed at dealing with kidnapping, possession of illegal arms, fraud, extortion, blackmail and illegal accessing of bank accounts, Prime Minister Patrick Manning told the 38th Annual PNM Convention on Saturday.

However, Manning, pointing to the UNC’s policy of non-cooperation, told his audience at the Chaguaramas Convention Centre: “All I can do is ask you to wish me luck and pray that God grants the Opposition the wisdom, compassion and largeness of mind to lend their support on a matter that goes beyond the callous expediency that often permeates the politics of this country,” he said. Pointing out that crime affected people in Laventille and Caroni, Manning said the people of the country must join hands across the political divide in this national cause. In his wide-ranging address which dealt with all areas of government policy, Manning also defended the government’s policy on Caroni Limited and spoke at length about its proposed agricultural thrust. He said the people of Caroni and other rural areas, “supporters of the Opposition party,”  stood to benefit the most from this thrust. “And yet some desperate politicians are crying discrimination. “They do it to shore up their dwindling support. But we shall fix agriculture at long last in this country and in the process, fix, once and for all, some antiquated politicians as well,” the Prime Minister stated.

As he spoke about the development of the Wallerfield Business Park and other business ventures aimed at diversifying the economy, Manning pledged that “no short pants man shall sip scotch and soda at the Prime Minister’s residence, pretending to bring in four manufacturing plants” — a glass plant, a paper plant, a particle board plant and an ethanol refining plant. “And all they end up planting was InnCogen, one of the most corrupt deals in the history of this country, from which certain high officials filled their pockets and which will remain a burden on this country for the next thirty years,” he said. The Prime Minister said the country could not “escape” constitution reform and reiterated his party’s commitment to a larger House of Representatives and Senate. Repeating statements made at the Election Convention last October, Manning said the PNM proposed that constituencies be smaller, in order to make it easier for Parliamentary Representatives to attend to the needs and concerns of their constituents. He added that more Members of Parliament would bring greater effectiveness to the Parliamentary Committee System as “it keeps an eye on the policies and actions of the Executive.” He said the PNM believed that the Senate should be “much larger” with all interest groups like business, labour, culture, religion, having representatives on the Independent Benches.

Manning however stressed that PNM would not support, in a plural society, “institutionalisation of racism” in the new Constitution. Stating that the people must never see power sharing as a division of spoils, he said the PNM was “very wary” of the system of Proportional Representation. “We fear it could entrench the division rather than bridge the divide and we resist any constitutional approbation of disunity in Trinidad and Tobago,” the Prime Minister emphasised. Manning said the PNM supported an expanded mandate for Local Government and was in this regard considering a presence in the National Parliament for Local Government, through nomination to the Senate, of all Mayors, Chairmen of Regional Corporations and the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly. On Tobago, Manning said “it was all good news.” He said in January Government would start the extension of the Crown Point Airport and it would also purchase a new ferry for transportation between the two islands. “Never again shall Tobago be left behind...Now that Tobago has returned to the fold of the PNM, the expectation is for harmonious living for generations to come,” he declared.