Manning goes to Couva North for walkabout

Prime Minister Patrick Manning is making a walkabout Monday in Couva North, the constituency held by Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday.

It's part of Manning's preparation for Local Government Election (LGE) but many observers are saying he might actually be planning a general election.

Commenting on the visit, Panday said he hopes his constituents tell him about their problems.

"I have been telling him for a very long time, he knows them. People don’t have water, proper roads, they lack the basic necessities," Panday told the Trinidad Express.

Panday said Manning has lost touch with the people he can only regain any credibility if he looks after people's basic needs.

"What the people need are services and that is the way to connect if he wants to connect with them. He has to serve them, he has to satisfy their needs," Panday said.

Local Government elections have been postponed for four consecutive years to facilitate reform of the system. Manning has promised the vote will be this year.

The PNM has said the party is conducting walkabouts and cottage meetings in various constituencies to audit the impact Government’s policies are having on the community "and to ensure all citizens are benefitting from a better quality of life".

Manning began his walkabouts in Arima last Monday, the day after Panday was defeated in internal elections in the UNC by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who won the leadership in a landslide.