Panday returns to Chaguanas West, UNC executive to move against Warner

Basdeo Panday returned to Chaguanas West Thursday, keeping a promise to constituents in the Chaguanas West constituency to make himself available every Thursday to meet with them, hear their concerns and take action as necessary.

It's part of Panday's plan to upstage the sitting MP, Jack Warner, whom he says has been working with the People's National Movement and ignoring the concerns of the people who voted for him. On Thursday Panday again met Warner's constituents at the office of the deputy mayor of Chaguanas, Orlando Nagessar.

Last week at the inaugural meeting in Warner's constituency Panday met with 54 contract workers who had just been retrenched and promised to try to help them keep their jobs. Since then he has written the prime minister on their behalf, seeking the release of funds to pay their wages.

But on Monday Warner intervened and presented the borough corporation with a cheque for $309,000, which he said was a grant to ensure that the workers are paid until at least the end of September. The local government minister is seeking a legal opinion from the Attorney General to determine whether "a private citizen" can give money to a municipal body to pay wages.

Panday has questioned Warner's motives and is asking questions about the source of the funds. He has even suggested that it could be coming from drug lords who wish to take control of the borough. That has landed him in trouble with Warner who has threatened to seek legal redress.

Warner plans to open a private political office in Panday's Couva North constituency on Friday.

In a related development, the national executive of the United National Congress (UNC) meets Thursday evening at the party's Rienzi headquarters and a reliable UNC source has said "big decisions" will likely be made concerning Warner.

Last week the executive decided to send Warner's colleagues Ramesh L. Maharaj and Winston "Gypsy" Peters before a disciplinary committee, to answer charges of voting in Parliament contrary to party directives bringing the party into disrepute through their actions as part of a group clamouring for change in the UNC.

The committee could recommend that they be either suspended or expelled from the party.

Warner faces the same charges but last week the executive deferred any decision about him because he had written the secretariat advising that he would be out of the country on FIFA business.

He had requested full documentation of all charges against him to present to his lawyers so he and his defence team would be prepared to answer allegations and cross examine his accusers. So far Warner has not received those documents and it's unlikely that he will attend Thursday's executive meeting.