We’re not seeing Glenda enough

It’s been an eventful return to office for the 60-year-old party, which has had to grapple with the effects of an economic downturn, escalating crime and rising joblessness.

How, then, are citizens faring, particularly in the constituencies where the PNM either gained or retained control following the September 7, 2015, general election? Sunday Newsday today begins its series in the eastern constituency of Toco/Sangre Grande, which some commentators, in the run-up to the election, had deemed as marginal.

GLENDA Jennings-Smith may not have been the overwhelming choice among constituents to contest the Toco/Sangre Grande seat, ahead of the September 7, 2015, general election.

However, by the time her selection was officially announced on February 7, 2015, at Balisier House, Port-of-Spain, constituents, despite pockets of disgruntlement, still rallied around the retired Assistant Commissioner of Police.

In fact, so elated were they by her win, having wrested the seat from the United National Congress’ (UNC’s) Brent Sancho, constituents were disappointed she was not given a ministerial portfolio when Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley named the members of his Cabinet.

It was rumoured that Jennings- Smith and some of her family members also were heartbroken by the development.

All that changed though when, months later, Jennings-Smith was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, on February 1, a position which drew on her 32 years of experience in the T&T Police Service.

In her new role, the MP vowed to tackle gangs, firstly by working with at-risk youths in depressed communities. But as she settles into her new portfolio, Jennings- Smith’s representation in the largely rural constituency remains, for the most part, wanting, residents say.

“She needs to get up and understand what politics and serving people is all about,” one constituent said.

“You have to reach out to people and be accessible. She has got to come to the people who put her in power. The ground is grumbling and I can only hope they are not using the upcoming Local Government election as an excuse (for their absence in the constituency).” Another constituent claimed in a Sunday Newsday interview on Thursday that the MP, daughter of PNM stalwart, Rita Jennings (a former chairman of the then Sangre Grande County Council), has been working well in the area but has rarely kept her office appointments since taking up the post of Parliamentary Secretary in the National Security Ministry, four months ago.

“We have not been seeing her and we want to see our MP,” the woman said. A Duranta Gardens resident observed that life in the constituency was at a standstill.

“I am not seeing any real change. There is nothing to talk about but the constituency has not gotten worse. It is just there,” she said.

On the face of it, Jennings-Smith has attempted to stamp her mark as the representative for the area.

Outside of establishing an annual Christmas toy and hamper distribution drive for children and the less fortunate last December, Jennings-Smith also has put in appearances at several functions and town meetings, including the public consultation on Local Government Reform in January.

She has aligned herself with several social causes in the community, including a cancer awareness drive which attracted scores of residents.

Just recently, Jennings-Smith also was one of the speakers at the launch of Maximising Your Potential, a multi-tiered initiative aimed at providing educational opportunities for young people in a range of disciplines.

The initiative catered to young people in the constituencies of La Horquetta/Talparo; Toco/Sangre Grande; D’Abadie/ O’Meara and Arima.

At the event, Jennings-Smith, cognisant of the region’s high unemployment, called for an agricultural, fishing and tilapia farming component to be included in the programme for her constituents.

Ahead of the recent Secondary Entrance Assessment (SE A) examination, Jennings-Smith also visited schools throughout the constituency to impart words of encouragement to the students.

By way of jobs, there may not be a pool of major infrastructural projects from which to choose but the CEPEP and URP has been functioning in the region.

Residents could not say the extent to which the make-work programmes have been successful.

“But there were constituents who have received sustainable jobs,” one woman said. In the interim, though, there are fervent appeals for Jennings-Smith to be more accessible to her constituents.

For interim president of the Sangre Grande Chamber of Commerce, Kenneth Budhu, Jennings- Smith has generally been an absentee MP.

“She has attended some functions and meetings but her presence is not that noticeable,” he said, giving his personal opinion of her stewardship as opposed to that of the Chamber. “I would have liked to see her more present, more interactive with the burgesses of the town.” The businessman admitted, however, that the Chamber had not reached out to the MP nor has she sought an audience with them.

Budhu said he would have liked to hear publicly, some of Jennings- Smith’s plans for the area.

“I have been to one meeting with police officers and she was not there,” he claimed.

Budhu said the region was one of the poorest in the country and special attention must be paid to it. “That has not been happening,” he said, adding that the problems in the constituency were articulated mainly through the Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation and Toco/ Fishing Pond councillor Martin ‘Terry’ Rondon.

Jennings-Smith could not be reached for comment despite several attempts by Sunday Newsday.