Category Archives: PNM

Governance by God…no less

By Raffique Shah
March 07, 2010

Prime Minister Patrick ManningIf Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s brimstone-and-fire like sermon in Parliament two Fridays ago was reflective of the normal behaviour of Born-Again-Whatever, then I thank the Lord (if She exists) for saving me from the darkness that envelops such tortured souls, for allowing me to see the light of rational thinking at a very early age in my life.
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BREAKING NEWS: Calder Hart Resigns

BREAKING NEWS

Calder Hart resigns from Udecott
Calder Hart resigns from Udecott
Calder Hart has resigned from Udecott and all other state boards in Trinidad and Tobago.

HART RESIGNS
ALMOST two years after allegations of corruption were first made against him, Calder Hart yesterday resigned as the Udecott executive chairman and as the chairman of four other state boards he had been appointed to under Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s administration.
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Hart family ties to UDeCOTT contracts

WE WANT ANSWERS, MR. PRIME MINISTER

By Andre Bagoo
March 05, 2010

PM Patrick Manning and Calder HartTHE CONGRESS of the People (COP) yesterday called on Prime Minister Patrick Manning to immediately account for his failure to take action against Udecott executive chairman Calder Hart in light of fresh evidence linking Hart to a company his board awarded $820 million in contracts.
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Well a Woman is Almost There

So wha bout the politics now?

By Corey Gilkes
March 02, 2010
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog

Kamla Persad-BissessarOn the 24th January an interesting but not unexpected shift in the politics occurred when Kamla Persad-Bissessar was voted in as political leader of the United National Congress dethroning the charismatic veteran leader and founder of the party, Basdeo Panday. This paved the way for her being sworn in as Leader of the Opposition on the 25th February. Kamla’s victory is significant in more ways than one. For well over fifty years there have been women figuring in one way or another in the political world of Trinidad and Tobago. Significant strides have been made by such figures as Audrey Jeffers, Gertrude Kirton, Muriel Donawa-McDavidson and Jean Pierre, to name but a few and while in the past there have been women appointed by the Prime Minister to function in his capacity in his absence, never before have we seen a woman elected to lead a political party with the likelihood that she may also be elected as the country’s next Prime Minister.
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PM does not get it

Newsday Editorial
February 28, 2010 – newsday.co.tt

PM Patrick ManningWe wonder what impression the Caribbean Parliamentary visitors must have had on Friday of Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s display of religious fervour — some would even say religious rage at what he perceives as persecution of himself and of the Full Gospel churches in Trinidad and Tobago?
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Laventille, don’t fall for sweet talk

Guardian Editorial
February 11, 2010 – guardian.co.tt

LaventilleHaving had the absolute and unwavering support of the people of Laventille for the 54 years of its existence as a political party, it is highly contemptuous of the PNM’s political leader, Prime Minister Patrick Manning, to go into that part of the country, which is riddled with crime and sunk in underdevelopment, to name in an ad hoc manner a committee of ministers and parliamentary representatives to discern the problems of the area. Where have Mr Manning and the PNM Government been all this time?Specifically, as it relates to the stewardship of Mr Manning’s administration, between 2002 and 2007, Prime Minister Manning and his Government announced a plan for the rehabilitation of east Port-of-Spain, inclusive of the “behind the bridge” areas, Laventille and Sea Lots. Where has that plan got to beyond talk and the establishment of a company, presumably to effect the job?
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More fiscal discipline

Newsday Editorial
February 11, 2010 – newsday.co.tt
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog

Financial ComplexPRIME Minister Patrick Manning, at a PNM meeting in Laventille on Tuesday, re-ignited the debate as to how well, or if you like, how badly the Government has been spending public monies.

He raised the prospect of the Government having to borrow to fund its expenditure and thereby possibly incur strange looks from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Manning said the Government had last year suffered a $6.9 billion revenue shortfall, while this year’s shortfall is about $7.8 billion.
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Defeated Basdeo Panday Holds On

Defeated UNC leader Basdeo Panday
Defeated UNC leader Basdeo Panday

Mr Panday must step aside now
Sunday night’s victory by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, placing her as the new political leader of the opposition United National Congress (UNC), is tantamount to a political earthquake in T&T. And while the political shake-up may not leave anyone dead, there are likely to be many careers that end up being badly wounded. Mrs Persad-Bissessar has done what many men before her have failed to do: she toppled the man whose name has become synonymous with post-independence opposition politics in T&T—Basdeo Panday. Although the election machinery was clearly stacked against her and her slate with a large number of voters being disenfranchised, the huge margin of Mrs Persad-Bissessar’s victory for the post of political leader of the UNC was a clear indication that almost every member of the party wanted change.
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PM: PNM does not wash dirty linen in public

by Michelle Loubon
January 25, 2010 – guardian.co.tt

PM Patrick ManningThe PNM does not wash its dirty linen in public. Prime Minister Patrick Manning made this comment during the party’s 54th anniversary celebrations interfaith thanksgiving rally at Balisier House, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. Its theme was “We’ve come this far by faith.” Although he maintained the PNM did not interfere in the politics of other political parties, Manning boasted that the PNM model was the best with regard to internal organisation and discipline. “We take careful note of what goes on in other political parties…We want to know what not to do,” he said. He then waded into the practice of washing dirty linen in public. “If you find dirty linen being washed in public, it has to do with the method of selection,” Manning said.
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