Prepare for return to power

“THE great march forward,” was the declaration from UNC St Augustine MP Winston Dookeran that set the tone for the resumption of the Opposition party’s “Monday Night Forum” at Canaan Presbyterian School, Duncan Village in La Romain. He promised a “complete break from the politics of the past in politics of the future.” In a rousing speech, punctuated at times by desk-thumping from the crowd at the meeting, the former Central Bank Governor slammed the Manning administration’s alleged failure to translate the surplus of the energy sector into gains within the non-energy sector. He called on supporters to rally around the party and prepare for a return to the corridors of power.

On the issue of Government’s economic policies, Dookeran said: “They do not understand the arithmetic of economic management, much less how to manage the surplus gains from this vital segment of our nation’s economy. “The truth is they do not know what to do,” he continued, adding that TT had plummeted in the World Economic Forum survey ranking of 80 countries from position 38 in 2002 to position 55, by last year. He also claimed “sustainable development” plans and projects were “nonexistent” and temporary jobs were being created through a number of Government social development programmes. “The jobs being created in the social development programmes depend on revenue of Government and when this revenue falls, then these jobs will also go,” Dookeran said. He then boldly predicted a return to the corridors of power by a revitalised UNC saying political change “always follows a period of public mismanagement.”

“We must prepare for a complete transformation of our party and come out of the narrow confines of our comfort zones to unite all the peoples of Trinidad and Tobago. This policy of inclusion must embrace all groups, so all could feel equal. It is not a matter of inviting groups to join you, but you going out and joining other groups,” Dookeran said. Also addressing the Forum was Opposition Senator Sadiq Baksh, who declared that the ruling party was rife with “spite, hate, and enslavement.” Baksh said Government embarked on a “sinister plan” to re-engineer the voting-patterns within the marginal constituencies by the construction of a multitude of low-cost housing projects. “They are building a vote-bank to keep people enslaved, not empowered,” Baksh said. Referring to the number of housing projects in San Fernando, Baksh said Government was breaking “every housing legislation with impunity.” “We cannot allow Government to break the law, then use that very same law to victimise innocent citizens,” he continued.