Nicole Dyer-Griffith gets real

She was adamant the COP, which was founded on the principles of inclusive politics, had veered from its moorings and needed to quickly re-engage the people if it stood a realistic chance of being a worthy political force.

“This has been one of the bugbears for our organisation, getting real,” an outspoken Dyer- Griffith said on Friday.

The former COP chairman also observed the party has not been connecting with the vast majority of citizens.

“We need to speak in terms that people can understand what we bring to the table. We need to move away from speaking this language that seems to be abstract and that does not connect.” According to Dyer- Griffith, discipline is the major problem confronting the COP.

She referred to the controversy surrounding her eligibility to contest the election, given her recent position as leader of the Alliance of Independents, as a case in point.

The leadership election was supposed to have taken place on July 7 but was postponed pending the outcome of today’s meeting at the COP’s Operations Centre, Charlieville. It is expected that a new date for the election will be set at the meeting.

Dyer-Griffith, who said she will attend today’s meeting, said questions about her eligibility were unfounded.

“As far as I am concerned, I am the holder of a letter from the political leader of the Congress of the People (Dr Anirudh Mahabir) stating that I am a member of the organisation. I am the holder of a membership card of the organisation.

My name is on a list of members of the organisation. I went through the process. I was vetted. I was interviewed and accepted a member.” Of the controversy, Dyer-Griffith said, “If one were to look closely, the COP always tends to put itself apart from the rest. And if it is we were to look at the two primary organisations, these issues that the COP faces now will never become challenges in those organisations because they maintain a level of discipline amongst the ranks and, therefore, they do not have to face, every Monday morning, waking up to a lawsuit from a member who feels aggrieved one way or the next. It just does not occur.

“If you look at the COP’s history, you will find that there are different elements that would speak to the organisation not being able to treat with certain issues from a disciplinary perspective.” A former model, Dyer- Griffith represented Trinidad and Tobago in the 1999 Miss Universe pageant. She has also dabbled in nursing, communications and business before moving into politics as a member of the COP, where she is bent on making her mark if elected leader.

Asked why citizens should see the COP as an alternative to the other two major political entities, she said, “The rationale for looking for an alternative to the two primary options is really simple. All you have to do is look at the track record of the current government and the last Opposition and it easily demonstrates that there is much to be desired.” The mother of one claimed the margin of people looking for a viable alternative has grown over the years.

She recalled the COP, when it had contested its first general election, was able to win the support of a sizeable number of voters (147,000), as did other parties before, including the Organisation for National Reconstruction and the National Alliance for Reconstruction.

“So that with every electoral period, those persons who can be considered marginal voters, the population grows.” As Dyer-Griffith sees it, the challenges confronting the country include national safety and security, management of the economy and economic diversification - issues which, she feels, the Government seems incapable of handling at this time.

She said the COP, under her watch, will seek to provide much needed solutions to the problems plaguing the country.

“People want to hear solutions that will really impact on their daily lives,” she said.

Dyer-Griffith, who in 2011 was appointed parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Communications, said the COP must re-invent itself to effect such changes.

“When we speak about good governance, all that is well and good.

But people want to know, ‘How am I going to make myself and my family safer? What are the strategies that are going to be employed to make the nation safer? “What are the strategies that are going to be employed to be able to put food on my table?’ Those are the bare basics that we need to get back to. So, we need to get down to brass tacks and get real.” Focussed on healing the fractures within the COP, “especially with all of the unnecessary distractions,” Dyer-Griffith said members who may have fallen by the wayside over the years as well as those seeking a fresh alternative, needed to feel re-assured.

However, she understands the process will not be a “walk in the park.” “It is going to be very challenging but we are committed to making it work and we are committed to ensuring that the COP can be seen a s viable alternative to the options that are currently before us.” Asked if the COP, under her leadership, will be in a position to contest the next general election on its own, Dyer-Griffith declared: “Absolutely.”