Sunday, July 22, 2012

Kelvin Ramnath is dead

JYOTI is deeply saddened to report the death of a friend, Kelvin Ramnath.

Kelvin, a former energy minister, was chairman of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and one of the founding members of the United National Congress (UNC). 



He died at the Augustus Long Hospital Saturday but the cause of death is still uncertain. Kelvin suffered from chronic cardiac disease and was diabetic.

He first entered Parliament in 1976, as the member for Couva South. He fought that election as a candidate of the infant United Labour Front, which he helped form together with former UNC Prime Minister, Basdeo Panday.

He was re-elected in 1981 as a candidate for the UNC and later in 1986 as a National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) candidate for the same constituency. In government, he served as Public Utilities Minister and Energy Minister in the government of Prime Minister A.N.R. Robinson. However he and some Panday loyalists left the NAR following a break with Robinson and together with Dr Rampersad Parasram, formed CLUB 88 (Caucus of Love Unity and Brotherhood), which later became the UNC in 1989.

Kelvin returned to the opposition benches with Panday and others in 1988 and won re-election as the UNC candidate in the 1991 general election. However he and Panday had a major break and he was replaced by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj in the 1995 general election that saw Panday become Prime Minister in a coalition government with Robinson.

He returned as UNC MP for Couva South in the 2001 general election when Panday fell out Maharaj but he remained in opposition after President Robinson fired Panday and appointed Patrick Manning as Prime Minister following the 18-18 tie in that election. Kelvin won re-election again in 2007, just weeks after having cardiac bypass surgery in Canada. He did not contest the 2010 general election.

He was a petroleum engineer and worked for many years in senior managerial positions in the energy sector.

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Jai & Sero

Jai & Sero

Our family at home in Toronto 2008

Our family at home in Toronto 2008
Amit, Heather, Fuzz, Aj, Jiv, Shiva, Rampa, Sero, Jai