Jack Warner flew all the way from Nigeria to Trinidad to address a meeting of the Movement for Change in the Waterloo High School in Central Trinidad Thursday night and then promptly left for the airport to return to the African nation to attend to FIFA business. But before he did he made some startling disclosures that he said came out of a conversation he had with Prime Minister Patrick Manning.
Warner made the comment in reference to the meeting between Prime Minister Patrick Manning and United National Congress (UNC) leader Basdeo Panday. He told supporters it was all part of a plan to mash up the movement for change.
He said he first learned of the during a a flight from London to Trinidad on British Airways on May 22, 2009.
He said his personal assistant Cheryl Abrams was with him and as well as Manning and Herbie Atwell.
"All four of us were seated together and for more than three hours the PM and I debated various issues relative to the effective governance of Trinidad & Tobago.
"In the face of a losing debate, the PM then advised me that he can make a deal with the Leader of the Opposition that will get rid of the Ramjack faction at once.
"The PM said to me, "you know how your Leader like to make deals!" He told me what he can do, what the deal is that he can make. My response to him was that neither Ramesh, Gypsy nor I needed Parliament to serve the people of T&T and I elaborated further on this, for his sake.
"Rowley was not a factor then as he is now so you can understand the present anxiety of the two men. Luckily for me, I promptly reported this discussion to Ramesh and sometime later to Winston Dookeran.
"So therefore I am not surprised about the Manday meeting. In the fullness of time, more shall be exposed," he said.
The UNC deputy leader said the nation is in the midst fear and anxiety from the stories of crime, corruption, poor governance and "the indifference and insensitivity of this Patrick Manning-led Government".
He spoke of reckless spending, carnage the nation;s roads, murders in every neighbourhood and the decrease in people's standards of living with the masses deprived of the basic necessities of life.
"Even the least faint-hearted among us are showing signs of giving up hope," he said. Despair, he added, is not an option.
"Giving up cannot be an alternative...To lose faith and throw our hands in the air will not solve the problems, he said, adding that only through unity can the nation defeat the ills plaguing it today.
"Through unity we can become strong. Through unity, our children’s laughter will once more be heard...Now is not the time to give up; now is the time to keep the faith," he said.
Speaking about the Manning-Panday meeting he said the discussions did nothing to help the people who consistently support the UNC and "who gave unselfishly of the time, money and their vote to the Leader of the Opposition".
He wanted to know why Panday did not get help for those who lost millions in the collapse of the Hindu Credit Union, why he didn't deal with the alleged Chinese slavery and problems that affect the daily lives of ordinary people.
Why, he asked, did Panday not raise the delay in giving lands to sugar workers after seven years.
"When I went to discuss resources for football for our nation’s youth, I was branded as an agent of the PNM by the Leader of the Opposition. When Ramesh paid a visit to the Prime Minister to condemn crime and corruption he too was called an agent of the PNM by the Leader of the Opposition.
"Now that the Leader of the Opposition has met with the Prime Minister at his imperial palace...he says it is a function of the Westminster System of Government," Warner said.
He called Panday's action a betrayal of the people and they raise questions of trust "not only for us in the UNC but also for the national community at large."
He said Panday's leadership is under scrutiny by those closest to him and claimed that his leadership is no longer in sync "with the wishes, aims, goals and objectives of the people."
What this means, he said, is that it is incumbent on the people to install a leadership which is aligned to their vision for a better society.
"Any leader who can boast that he has been leading his people for 40 years and give that as a reason for his love for them, amidst all that is happening in the country today is guilty not of true love but counterfeit love," Warner suggested.
"Any leader who can boast today of the democracy in a Party where none of the Party's organs is functioning and where the Party is being led by him and his family alone is guilty not of propagating democracy in the Party but the illusion of democracy," he said.
Warner said if the UNC is to effectively serve its members and the wider society it has to reform itself and get a sense of purpose.
"It must embrace change and no amount of posturing can be a substitute for change...What we need is an organisation that begins to get ready from now to become the Government," he said.
And he reiterated that the present UNC, "unless restructured and reorganised through internal elections, will never be able to become the government of the day again, ever."
He insisted, "The country will not get a new government if UNC maintains its same old, same old leadership. Now is the time for you to decide."
No comments:
Post a Comment