Kamla Persad-Bissessar dug into the history of Trinidad and Tobago at a political meeting in Laventille Monday night to remind her audience and the national community of the uprising of 40 years ago when Makandal Daaga appealed for Africans and Indians to unite.She said decades later, despite the work of others who worked hard to keep the communities divided ,that dream of unity has become a reality.
“And so 40 long years later, we are all united under the People’s Partnership committed to working together for the common good of all of our citizens,” she said.
She urged supporters to make sure that on May 24 they vote Patrick Manning and the People’s National Movement out of office because having him back in government is the worst nightmare they could face.
“And we can’t let that happen...no matter what Patrick says this election is about, It’s a simple choice between two competing visions” she said.
She noted that Laventille has always been loyal to the PNM and it should therefore be the one community to reap the benefits of supporting the party.
“And yet what do we find after almost 60 years of control of Laventille? …one of the most troubled areas in all of Trinidad and Tobago/
“Crime is out of control, social ills abound, the youth have lost hope, there are no programs for development…that is the legacy of the towards its most loyal constituency,” she said.
“Look at your condition…and compare it with the billions of dollars that have been given to the Prime Minister’s friends and favourites…some $4.0 billion in cost overruns, not cost you know, but overruns…While you, who have supported Mr Manning, live in these abject conditions, he lives in an Emperor’s Palace and sleeps on sheets of silk…while you scrunt to make a dollar.”
She called on the people of Laventille to accept that the PNM has never cared for them.
“They do not care for you now, and they never will…they only care for themselves and their money hungry friends!”
She also made it clear that by his own admission, Manning is not interested in unity. She said the groups that have come together in the People’s Partnership have united to “get rid of Patrick’s corrupt and incompetent National Movement, who has neglected you, used and abused you for the last 60 years.”
She said there is another reason they have come together.
“The problems of Laventille and by extension the problems of Trinidad & Tobago, cannot…be solved by any one man! We need to bring people together, people who care, people who are committed, and people who are competent, who have ideas to work together to solve these problems,” she said.
“The damage that the PNM has done over the last 60 years will not and cannot be eliminated easily or quickly, but I give you my word here tonight, that with the support of the People’s Partnership and your partnership – the people of Laventille, we can and we will solve the problem of Laventille, once and for all,” she pledged.
The UNC leader accused successive administrations of taking for granted the loyalty and support of the people of Laventille, creating a culture of dependency.
She said Laventille is overrun by crime, fear and a sense of hopelessness because there are no meaningful attempts at implementing social programs to address the long-standing issues affecting generations of residents of Laventille.
She promised that all that will change under a People’s partnership government, pledging that Laventille will rise with the rest of the country to achieve its full potential.
“I have a dream tonight, that Laventille will no longer be associated with crime, poverty and social ills…that Laventille will be transformed into one of our most prosperous and pleasant communities in all of Trinidad and Tobago…
"Put us into government, so that together we can re-create Laventille,” she said.
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