Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner on Monday launched a draft manifesto for change in the UNC in which he has presented an analysis of the party's current position and proposes several options for its transformation to prepare it for victory against the governing People's National Movement (PNM). The document praises the party's founder, Basdeo Panday, and also calls on Warner's parliamentary colleagues to embrace change and to unite with those political forces which share the common views on policies and key issues facing Trinidad and Tobago.
"...one of the persons who I have admired most for his passion to want to help the less fortunate in society, his commitment to change from top to bottom and leadership of our people and his country is (the) Honourable Basdeo Panday," Warner wrote in the introduction to the manifesto.
He continued, "Here was a man who stood up for ordinary, decent people who were exploited in the sugarcane fields; a man who was brave enough to take on vested interests to improve the working conditions and pay of sugar workers; a man strong enough to face intimidation and prison for the people he loved."
But while he paid tribute to Panday he also acknowledged that times have changed and that the party must embrace change if it is to be relevant. And he said if the UNC wants to lead it must first earn the trust of the people and lead by example.
"Make no mistake, Mr Basdeo Panday is a great man," the document states. But it also makes the point that "we can no longer afford to live on past glories."
The document calls on UNC members to create a movement "that can unite all the people of our country" to create a place where every creed and every race can truly have an equal place. "It is then, and only then, that we will have created a legacy fit for the honour of the party's first leader," the manifesto states.
The manifesto outlines 10 pledges:
- Upholding the UNC constitution at all times
- Working together to create a new philosophy and mission for the party
- Holding of annual elections to all constituency executives and to the national executive
- One member one vote to choose UNC candidates for public office
- Strengthened Youth and Women's arms
- Recruiting professional, central and regional staff to lead activities with the constituencies
- Publication of a monthly party newsletter
- Ongoing membership drive
- Within the party structure, build a country where there are opportunities for all and our citizens live free from fear
- Creation of a legacy fit for the honour of Basdeo Panday
The launch comes a day before the UNC begins a series of meetings on forging a united opposition to the PNM. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday with Dr Kirk Meighoo, leader of the Democratic National Assembly (DNA).
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who is leading the unity talks on behalf of the UNC, has said she has had positive responses from all political parties including the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) and the Congress of the People (COP).
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