Mr Manning, train your successor

You may be the envy of many, but you are the leader and hope of more than half million citizens of Trinidad and Tobago who need you to represent them locally, regionally and internationally. Your approach and dealings with many situations do not always meet with my agreement, but I have to understand that you are not an attorney-at-law. However, the same attorneys who very often criticise the way you handle matters, contradict each other from time to time. Do not forget, law is not a perfect science, as your training has taught you. But, that is not the issue for me now and I do not want to get tied up with ‘red herrings’.

You need to get cracking and look for a successor before it is too late. Do not crash the hopes and aspirations of your people. The people on the other side have gone to the University of the West Indies, the Trade Unions and Credit Unions, the Business Sector, the Police Service and other arms of National Security where they have recruited followers who are now in obstructive positions.

Avoid a situation similar to what happened in 1981 upon the death of the same Dr Eric Williams. Don’t forget the problems you had to stabilise the “ship” from sinking. Select a young black Trinidadian now and train him for office.