UNC cancels Congress because of budget debate

The United National Congress (UNC) has postponed its National Congress, which was to be held on Sunday. The decision has angered deputy leader, Jack Warner.

An internal memo sent by email explains that it's because of the budget debate, which begins Friday with opposition leader Basdeo Panday delivering his reply to the fiscal measures.

The Congress was supposed to discuss among other things a date for the party's internal elections.

Panday told local media the party made the decision because "national business is more important. We shall deal with national business first and then party business".

The former prime minister said when the budget is out of the way the party would set a new date for the Congress as well as the party's National Assembly meeting, which was supposed to take place in October.

But the Chaguanas West MP disagrees with the rationale for the not holding the Congress.

"It is unthinkable, it is unconstitutional, it is mind-boggling that any party would postpone the National Congress because of the national budget," he said in an internal email.

"It is informative to note that I am still the Deputy Political Leader of the UNC with responsibility for Party Administration and yet I am not aware that there has been any meeting or decision of the National Executive to postpone the National Congress," he wrote in his email.

"No one man, no one group of men and no one family has the authority to postpone the party's National Congress and for the ridiculous excuse that they have to prepare for the budget debate," he said.

"Once again Patrick Manning's government has determined the conduct of the business of the UNC," he concluded.

But even if the Congress was going to go ahead as scheduled it would have faced a challenge from Warner over its legitimacy because of what he calls a bogus list of financial members.

In a letter to the party earlier this month, he urged the UNC not to hold any Congress until the matter of the list of financial members is rectified.

"Any attempt to hold such a Congress with the current outdated and inaccurate list would be void," Warner wrote, adding that he reserves his legal right "to institute legal proceedings to address this illegality."

Read the story: Jack complains of bogus UNC lists

Warner will spend Sunday at his Chaguanas West constituency office at a day-long conference with his staff and volunteers. The gathering will include everyone connected to the Chaguanas West office and the surrogate office in Panday's Couva North constituency.

The session will discuss political strategies, communication inititaives and related matters on the operation of the offices.