BIG OBSESSION

In an exclusive report by political reporter Ria Taitt in yesterday’s Newsday, Parliament has received instructions from the Government to vacate the building as quickly as possible. This is because Mr Manning wants the Red House to use as his office. The departments of Parliament, including Hansard, Library, staff offices are to be re-located to the building which formerly housed the National Library, located next to City Hall. The Parliamentary Chambers will remain in the Red House — at least for the time being. Informed sources have pointed out, however, that the space in the library building, which is about one-third of the space that Parliament currently occupies, will be quite inadequate. Indeed, we must wonder why, if Mr Manning finds Whitehall unsuitable for his Prime Ministerial duties, he does not relocate his office, rather than Parliament, to the old library building. Can it be that the PM’s office, with all its staff and accoutrements, is larger than Parliament itself? Or is it something else that is too large?

Additionally, it may well be that this demand by Government is an abuse of power. Other sources have pointed out that the only authority that can move Parliament is Parliament itself - which is exactly how it should be for the highest legislative-making body of the land. In any case, it is absurd that Parliament should have to move to an entirely new building in order to accommodate Mr Manning. There is, after all, a duplicate of the Parliamentary chamber on the southern side of the Red House. This chamber, which is intended to accommodate the Senate, has been undergoing rehabilitation for many years now. A sensible plan would have been to ready that chamber and move the Parliament across to it while work on the northern side of the building takes place. But it seems that Mr Manning is hoping that possession will prove to be nine-tenths of the law.

Indeed, the Red House obsession is only one part of Mr Manning’s larger obsession to build many tall buildings in the capital city. Newly added to this is his desire to extend the grounds of the Prime Minister’s residence by seizing an adjoining recreation area — a plan that has the residents of St Ann’s in an uproar. What new duties, we wonder, does the Prime Minister have that require this extra land? To add to the surreal nature of this exercise is a statement from a Government source which says that there is an "extremely comprehensive and well-thought out plan for the capital city." However, none save PNM sycophants would accept this assertion. Ours is a capital city without adequate drainage, without working fire hydrants, and with daily traffic congestion. None of the grandiose plans publicised so far have hinted at any measures to solve these fundamental problems.

So, far from being driven by thought, the whole plan appears to be driven solely by Mr Manning’s conviction that a developed Trinidad and Tobago is defined by tall buildings, rather than a lower crime rate, improved health care, and a good education system. Perhaps he imagines, 15 years down the road, being able to point to Port-of-Spain’s remodelled skyline as clear proof that he has made Trinidad and Tobago a First World nation. If that is all he can point to, however, history will not treat him kindly.