PNM, UNC grapple with internal demons

IN A YEAR beset with crime, politics still managed to attract considerable national attention. In the UNC, the year was dominated by division and internecine warfare. It focused largely on Basdeo Panday’s continued role in national politics and in UNC politics. And at one stage, it seemed that Panday’s political career was over as he handed over the reins to Winston Dookeran. But by the end of the year, Panday remained firmly ensconced in the saddle. Notwithstanding the start of “unity” meetings, many think the party is still very divided and miles away from a resolution on the contentious issues. In the PNM, it was a mixed bag. Housing Minister Keith Rowley withstood allegations of improper conduct against him, both with respect to the Landate Development project and with respect to the now infamous tearoom brawl. Rowley emerged unscathed at the end of the investigations into both allegations. However some of his colleagues were not as fortunate. Both former Works and Transport Minister and PNM Chairman Franklyn Khan and incumbent Energy Minister Eric Williams had to fight off allegations of bribery from PNM Councillor Dansam Dhansook.

As the year reached its end, Khan was slapped with several criminal charges including misbehaviour in public office while Williams has profusely and strenuously denied any involvement in corruption or any other form of criminal behaviour. The following are some of the major political developments in the country on a month-by-month format.

JANUARY — THA elections and Scarborough Hospital bacchanal.
The year started with election fever gripping the sister-isle of Tobago, as the PNM and the NAR wrestled for control of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). By an overwhelming majority, the PNM triumphed, grabbing 11 of the 12 seats up for grabs in the sister isle. But not all was honky dory on the Tobago front for the PNM, as the construction of the Scarborough Hospital was mired in controversy, cost overruns and delay. NIPDEC, the original project manager was fired and replaced by the Canadian-based Turner International. Government then brought back NIPDEC as project manager, to be assisted by Turner. The hospital which was due for completion in April, is no where near finished as the year nears its end. Principal constractor NH International is no longer involved in the construction.

FEBRUARY — Hector McClean dies
The lack of Opposition support forced Government to bring a restricted Caribbean Court of Justice Bill, 2004. This bill commits Trinidad and Tobago to being a member of the court in its original jurisdiction — to deal only with disputes arising out of the interpretation of the Caricom Treaty. The Government’s hope of honouring a commitment given by the UNC administration to Caricom to establish the CCJ in its full jurisdiction —  that is to say, as a final court of appeal and effectively replacing the Privy Council — was dashed when the Opposition refused to support the measure. Such legislation would have required a special majority. Former House Speaker Hector McClean died at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the St Clair Medical Centre.  64-year-old McClean served both under the PNM and UNC governments.

MARCH
Things were relatively quiet on the political front this month.

APRIL — Sharma refuses to leave Parliament, Dhansook surfaces for first time.
April was an eventful month in the politics of Trinidad and Tobago. The Privileges Committee of the House of Representatives tabled its Report on the  “tearoom brawl” involving Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma. Sharma had complained to Parliament that Rowley had cuffed and pelted him with missiles during an argument in the tearoom in September of 2004. But after months of hearing evidence, the Committee found that there  was insufficient evidence to support Sharma’s allegation of an assault. By contrast the Committee found that Rowley’s allegations that Sharma called him a racist were corroborated by the evidence of tearoom attendant, Praba Singh and therefore had some basis in fact.

The House of Representatives in debating the report, resolved that Sharma should apologise for misleading the Parliament or be suspended for one month. Sharma refused to apologise, insisting that he wanted to make a statement. When the Speaker decided to enforce the decision of the House and  asked Sharma to vacate the Parliament, (in the light of his refusal to apologise), the MP stoutly refused. For his failure to obey the Speaker which necessitated the Speaker’s call to  the Police to escort him from the Parliament, Standing Order  43 was automatically invoked and Sharma was suspended for the rest of the session. But the controversy of the “tearoom brawl” was only just beginning. Pointe-a-Pierre MP Gillian Lucky,  one of two UNC Mps on the Privileges Committee, had signed the Report. (The other member Subhas Panday didn’t). Lucky  was censured at  a UNC parliamentary caucus at Rienzi Complex by Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday who stated that “politics has an integrity of its own” and advised Lucky that she should leave politics if her integrity was more important than politics. Lucky stormed out of the meeting. Days later,  joined by San Juan/Barataria MP Fuad Khan, Lucky announced that they were “independent UNC” Mps. They  said they could not support Panday’s view that poltics had a morality of its own.

The PNM was soon to have its own troubles when Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar read an undated letter to the Parliament, alleging fraud by a former Government Minister as well as Energy Minister Eric Williams. The letter alleged that the two had been paid bribes by Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation PNM Councillor Dansam Dhansook, for contracts for a seismic survey conducted by the Calgary-based Canadian company Terra Seis in Khan’s constituency. The letter had  been sent to the Prime Minister by Dhansook. PM Manning forwarded the letter to the Integrity Commission for investigation. Both PNM members denied that there was any truth to the allegations. In fact at an arranged news conference, they produced an affidavit in which Dhansook had retracted his allegation. Dhansook swiftly informed the media that the affidavit was signed under duress

MAY — PNM Minister resigns post
The Dhansook affair begins to take its political toll. A PNM Government minister resigns his post stating that he was doing so in keeping with the highest traditions of the PNM which had an unwavering commitment to integrity in public life.  He said he would concentrate on clearing his name of the allegations brought against him and vowed to return to office as soon as that was done.

JUNE — Electoral seats expanded, pressure to enact OSHA as Law
The House of Representatives accepts the recommendation of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to expand the number of electoral seats from 36 to 41. The Elections and Boundaries Commission Order, 2005 was passed, creating five new electoral constituencies in Trinidad.  Tobago retained its two constituencies.  The two Arouca seats were carved into three constituencies, a new seat in the eastern half of Caroni East was cut to create La Horquetta/Talparo.  A slice of Chaguanas was shaved off to form the new Chaguanas East constituency.  Oropouche was split into two constituencies, and a new seat was created when a chunk of two thirds of Ontoire/Mayaro, running along the South Coast, created the new Princes Town South/Tableland seat. As the number of persons who lost their lives in industrial mishaps, went up pressure mounted for Government to implement  the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Act which was passed in both Houses almost two years ago, is still to be proclaimed.

JULY — Rowley in the Landate Hotseat
Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley was in the hot seat for almost four weeks during the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of impropriety against him. The Inquiry was the result of allegations made in the budget debate in October 2004, by UNC MP Ganga Singh, that materials, equipment and labour in the Scarborough Hospital Project had been diverted to a private development reportedly owned by the Rowley family, called Landate. Although the PM had immediately announced the decision to set up a Commission of Inquiry, the Commission did not begin hearings until  July. Between July 11 and August 5, it heard evidence from over 15 witnesses. The Housing Minister, who was one of those witnesses, denied any knowledge of the removal of material, machinery and labour from the Scarborough Hospital project site to the Landate project site. He maintained that the allegations were politically motivated lies concocted by the UNC. In the Report the Commissioners censured Rowley for “a total lack of discretion” but it dismissed the allegations of impropriety against Rowley which had been made during the Commission of Inquiry by UNC activist Junior Barrington “Skippy” Thomas. The man who first came forward with the allegations, Ganga Singh failed to come before the Commission, despite repeated requests.

AUGUST — UNC infighting for leadership
The UNC leadership/succession issue takes the political spotlight after St Joseph MP Gerald Yetming revealed that Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday had agreed to hand over the political leadership to Winston Dookeran. But, Yetming complained that this smooth transition was being blocked by a group of persons including UNC MPs. He singled out Kamla Persad-Bissessar as a central figure in this group. Yetming’s statement unleashed the floodgates and thereafter a tit-for-tat war began between factions, one supporting Panday and the other supporting Dookeran. Panday’s eventual endorsement of  Dookeran as a candidate for the position of Party Leader of the UNC in the party did nothing to soothe the troubled waters because Panday declared at the same time that  he was “not going to just ride out into the sunset.” In fact, Panday announced that he would run for the position of Chairman of the party and that he was fielding a slate of candidates. The UNC leadership issue divided the party and dominated the political landscape resulting in a hotly contested internal election in which the campaign became increasingly  adversarial and sometimes almost acrimonious.

SEPTEMBER — Ramesh re-emerges, Manning announces $34B budget 
The two slates of  candidates in the UNC internal elections were announced. Panday took ownership of his slate, “The Patriots.”  Dookeran wavered, saying that he had no slate. But later he publicly endorsed the “Progressives.” The positions of Political Leader and Chairman were the only two posts which were uncontested. Meanwhile former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj launched new socio-political party ACT TT at the La Joya Complex.  Although he claimed ACT TT was not a political party, Maharaj promised to bring crime under control in 90 days if he was elected to government in thte next General Elections. As September closed Prime Minister Patrick Manning presented his $34 billion budget which gave tax breaks to the entire workforce, with the biggest beneficiaries being the lower and middle — income groups. Manning also announced free tertiary education and a Smart Card system for feeding the poor. The Budget with its many goodies was seen as the strong start of the road to the 2007 General Election.

October — UNC infighting grows heated, Yetming takes backseat
The results of the UNC’s October 2 internal elections saw the Progressives’ Gerald Yetming, Jack Warner, Manohar Ramsaran and Gary Griffith being the only members of that slate who were able to withstand the Panday juggernaut. Despite the election campaign being concluded, the rift within the UNC widened. The  recount for the position of Vice-Chairman saw an overturning of the original result, leading to the displacement of Yetming, a member of the Progressive slate, by Vasant Bharath, a member of the Patriots slate. This raised widespread suspicion and provoked a call from the Progressives for an investigation.  Jack Warner refused to attend Executive meetings until the matter was investigated. Warner was persuaded by Dookeran to change his position, but Dookeran continued to press for an inquiry into the recount.

To make matter worse,  Panday invited former AG Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj to join the Senate. Many — Dookeran included- felt that he (Dookeran) should have been consulted. Dookeran’s supporters argued that the Political Leader was being consistently marginalised by the Panday —led faction. Some contended that Lawrence Maharaj was being brought back into the UNC fold to neutralise whatever influence and support Dookeran might have garnered in the role as Political Leader. It was no surprise therefore that the demand for Dookeran to assume the role of Opposition Leader became the biggest contributor to the conflict within the UNC.  Panday stoutly refused to step aside, citing the Constitution as his defence.  Warner, Ganga Singh, Sadiq Baksh, Manohar Ramsaran severely criticised the new Chairman, accusing him of reneging on a previous  agreement —  to hand over everything (Political Leadership and Opposition Leadership) to Dookeran.

Warner went further and spoke of a plan afoot to have  nine Mps approach the President  to indicate that they support Dookeran. Such a move would have led to the removal of Panday as Opposition Leader. For several months Warner remained Panday’s most ardent critic. In November he was to make a complete somersault when he wholeheartedly supported Panday’s continued  role in the leadership, apologising for all the negative things he had said about his old friend. One man who remained unrepentant was Yetming who moved to the back bench, saying that  he no longer had any respect for, confidence in and would not support Panday as Opposition Leader.

NOVEMBER — Panday meets Manning on Crime
As Panday battled within his own party, he gave up one battle. After three years of non-cooperation, Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday yielded to public opinion and called for a meeting with  Prime Minister Patrick Manning to find solutions to dealing with the crime problem. Panday’s gesture followed a call by President Professor Maxwell Richards at the opening of Parliament for strong bipartisan action, a massive rally by the Keith Noel Committee  aimed at highlighting the crime problem and a growing number of  kidnappings and murders. The meetings, which were held at Whitehall, led to the passage of the Bail Bill, the first anti-crime bill requiring a special majority to be passed by this Parliament.

The crime meetings which were attended by Manning,  Panday, UNC Political Leader Winston Dookeran, Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson Regis, Attorney General John Jeremie, National Security Minister Martin Joseph and Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar, agreed to a legislative package which included: The Bail Bill; The establishment of gun and kidnapping courts for all crimes with the use of guns; Criminal Injuries Compensation Amendment Act; The Police Service Reform Bill; Protective Services Compensation Amendment Act; Strengthening of money laundering legislation; amendments to the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act to make way for the introduction of the breathalyser; the return of the Equal Opportunities Act and revision of DNA legislation.

DECEMBER — Khan charged, Manning wants his veto powers to remain
Franklin Khan resigned as PNM party chairman after being slapped with six charges of misconduct in public office. The charges stemmed from the allegations of bribery made against him by Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation PNM Councillor Dansam Dhansook.  The party’s vice-Chairman John Donaldson, presided over the proceedings of the party’s annual two-day convention, which was held at the Chaguaramas Convention Centre. Khan did not attend the convention. But his absence did not put a damper on the affair as Prime Minister Patrick Manning and his party had a ball, poking fun at the still unresolved internal problems of the UNC. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister — speaking with Newsday at his constituency office in San Fernando last week said he would not give up his veto powers when it came to making appointments within the Public Service including the appointment of the Commissioner of Police and members of the Police Service Commission. The power of the Prime Minister to veto such appointments, was one of several contentious issues discussed during anti-crime talks with the Opposition UNC and the Government.