Panday should humbly apologise

Combine this with other facts as follow:

The Leader of UNC was not in the country (what good are unity talks without the leaders of both factions being present).

Lucky and Khan are still working independently (attempts to expand the UNC base are a waste of time unless and until present members are united). The UNC Deputy Chairman post is still unresolved (in the public view the UNC should never, never get an opportunity to resolve the nation’s problems if it cannot resolve its own internal party matters first).

Overall, internally the UNC is in total disarray and this is my humble suggestion:

Firstly, Panday should have personal one-on-one meetings with UNC dissidents whereby he would take that opportunity to apologise to each member with the hope that they would accept his apology and now unite. Basdeo Panday should be smart enough to know that unity talks cannot and will not succeed on the national front without first healing the internal wounds that he has inflicted.

Secondly, the UNC executive should meet with the view to (once and for all) put to rest the question of who is the "official" Deputy Chairman of the UNC. Is it Yetming or Bharath or someone new that entire executive agrees on? Thirdly, Basdeo Panday needs to relinquish the post of Leader of the Opposition to the Leader of the UNC. Two "leaders" cannot run a party Conflicts of who is in control will always arise. Until and unless these steps are taken the United National Congress is doomed to be in Opposition at best. In my humble view, Basdeo Panday is the root cause of all the problems facing the UNC and by extension the country. If Panday were to retire the entire country will breathe a sigh of relief and move on with Winston Dookeran’s vision of new politics.

Ann Marie Dowlat

Woodbrook