Manning offers big incentives for seniors, students

Patrick Manning used his speech at Sunday's PNM rally in Port of Spain to offer election goodies to the population and also to try to knock down his principal opponent, UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

He announced that a PNM government would increase pensions to $2,500 for 45,000 seniors (the UNC has promised $3,000) and pledged to increase the minimum pension payable to retired public servants to $2,500.

He also said anyone receiving public assistance, disability grants, senior citizens' grants and conditional cash card would be exempt from paying the property tax, which the UNC has promised to eliminate.

Manning also promised to review the property tax payment for retirees earning $60,000 or less. "This my dear friends is a ’love thing’ PNM style," Manning told supporters.

"We shall increase the stipend for short-term employment paid to graduates from $3,000 to $4,000 and from $5,000 to $6,000 per month. Yuh see ’love thing’ PNM style?" Manning said.

Commenting on his opponent, Manning suggested that UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar might win a Miss Amity contest but would fail at being prime minister.

"Mrs Persad-Bissessar...does not understand what it is to be a Prime Minister...You must be beaten on the anvil of experience and forged in the cauldron of struggle.

"Being malleable, easy to be manipulated by her puppeteers, Jack Warner and Suruj Rambachan, easy like Sunday morning, are not qualities which the people of Trinidad and Tobago are looking for in a Prime Ministerial candidate," Manning declared.

Manning suggested that the opposition has nothing to offer.

"They are fighting an entire election on only one thing on their mind. Manning must go, they say. But I told them before and I will tell them again, ’Manning not going anywhere except right back to Manning’."