Speaker tells Jack it's OK to open private office in Couva North

The Speaker of the House of Representatives has confirmed in a letter to Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner that there is no rule that prevents him from opening a private political office in the Couva North Constituency.

However Barry Sinanan has advised Warner that establishing such an office in a constituency where there is an official office of the sitting Member of Parliament may lead to "contention" between the parties concerned.

Earlier in the week former president Sir Ellis Clarke, who was one of the principal authors of the 1976 Republican Constitution, confirmed that there is nothing in the constitution to prevent Warner from establishing the private office.

Warner had written to Sinanan seeking guidance on his plan to establish an office in Couva North to offer services to the people of the constituency. He was doing it in response to a decision by the United National Congress (UNC) to set up a "caretaker" office in his constituency to be managed by the Couva North MP and UNC leader, Basdeo Panday.

The UNC is planning to open similar offices in three constituencies - Chaguanas West, Tabaquite and Mayaro.

It announced recently that it is forced to do so because the MPs in the three constituencies have aligned themselves to the People's National Movement (PNM) and have therefore abdicated their responsibilities to effectively represent the people who elected them to office.

The constituencies are held by the so-called RAMJACK team of Warner, Ramesh L. Maharaj and Winston "Gypsy" Peters. The Warner-led group has launched a Platform for Change to demand that their party hold internal elections and that it rebrands itself to be an effective opposition to the governing PNM.

In response Warner announced his intention to open an office in Panday's constituency and to open similar offices in the constituencies held by Panday's brother and his daughter.

Sinanan noted that Warner's private office is different from a "constituency office", which is established by Parliament for every elected MP in the country and funded by the legislature.

"Therefore, if you were to proceed with this initiative you will be acting in a private capacity and the Office of the Parliament...You may wish to note that as a consequence, you will not be permitted access to resources that are usually allocated to constituency offices," Sinanan's letter stated.

Warner is going ahead with plans for the office, which he says will be located in Jerry Junction.

Some of his close supporters have been meeting with residents in key areas of Panday's constituency to gauge their response.

Reports suggest that people in the Couva North heartland of Korea, which is a village adopted by Panday's wife, are upset about a lack of representation and have welcomed Warner's initiative.

The reports also say field workers are hearing the same stories from other strong UNC areas such as Brickfield and Carapichaima.