Manning/Panday talks to continue

TALKS between Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday about matters pertaining to constitutional reform will resume shortly. Panday revealed that this was the essence of a ten-minute discussion he had with the Prime Minister behind the Speaker’s Chair during Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives. “We agreed that we should meet again and the Prime Minister will set the time,” Panday said. The two men held talks at Manning’s Whitehall office two weeks ago after a similar discussion behind the Speaker’s Chair. Following that meeting, Manning and Panday said none of the  substantive issues were discussed and they were seeking to develop the best process whereby those issues could be addressed.

Those issues include passage of the Police Reform Bills in Parliament, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), integrity legislation and overall constitutional reform. Panday said given the ongoing TT/Barbados maritime boundary dispute and Caricom concerns about Haiti, the Opposition is not too concerned about the irregularity of these meetings. Former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj claimed the Manning/Panday talks were nothing but “political gallerying” by both men and neither was serious about constitutional reform. However former government minister Trevor Sudama disagreed with Maharaj, indicating that the Government and Opposition had to agree on a process whereby constitutional reform could be achieved. Sudama said the final decision on any constitutional reform issue will be made by the Parliament.