CAMPAIGN BEGINS By Richardson Dhalai Thursday, January 22 2015 Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar literally kicked off the People’s Partnership’s 2015 election campaign on Tuesday evening, rallying her troops to understand that election time is upon them. “Let us understand the time that is upon us,” she told a large crowd of United National Congress (UNC) supporters as she formally opened the party’s south regional administrative building in San Fernando which she dubbed the “command centre.” She added, “Whilst we are here in happiness, coming out of an already wonderful Christmas season, welcoming the New Year and going into the Carnival season, let us understand what time is upon us now, and that time, I say to you, the time has come for our re-election campaign to begin.” Later in her address, she dispelled any notion of an early election as being called for by the Opposition, telling her audience that the election would be called when it was constitutionally due and she would not be “jumbied” into setting the date. “Nobody will jumbie me,” she said. “I am a child of God, and I put God in front, and I walk behind. So no jumbie holding me down. And that is why I will not take their basket, I will not let them jumbie me to call early election, I does work within the law and within the Constitution, I will call election within the time frame of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.” The election is constitutionally due by September. The large crowd gathered for the occasion spilled onto the nearby Harris Street, causing police officers to close the roadway for the duration of the function which was indeed a rally. The building, which is painted in the party’s signature bright yellow colours and draped with yellow flags and streamers, is located at the corner of Harris and Sutton streets, San Fernando, which is a short distance from the San Fernando West constituency office of Congress of the People (COP) Member of Parliament, Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan located on the corner of Harris and Keate streets. Even so, COP political leader Prakash Ramadhar attended the opening of the UNC office and stood with the Prime Minister as cut the ribbon. Persad-Bissessar told the crowd they had to “understand the time” and “ride the wave” to an electoral victory in 2015. “Now you must understand that an election is different from re-election,” she explained just before pointing to a platform backdrop which read, “Growing stronger, reaching higher.” The Prime Minister added, “So whilst we were going into an election campaign in 2010, riding the wave, rising up, in a re-election campaign you have to continue to ride the wave but you have to continue to both strengthen and to reach higher.” She advised supporters to communicate to the electorate the gains which had been achieved by her Government over the past four and a half years. She said the south regional command centre was “just the beginning of many other command centres” and revealed that the UNC would soon open its northwest regional command centre and northeast command centre which would be a hub for the neighbouring constituencies. Persad-Bissessar added that contrary to reports, no candidate had been selected to represent the UNC in the election saying nominations had not yet been invited by the screening committee. “The party has a screening process, nominations will be invited, we go through the process and then we will declare candidates, so those persons who are very enthusiastic, I want to make it very clear, as political leader of the UNC, I have named no candidate, I have chosen no candidate.” She then questioned the achievements of Opposition Leader, Dr Keith Rowley, saying he had not delivered any measurable achievements during his years as a former Housing Minister. “What is the history of our opponent, what is their track record?” she asked. “He (Rowley) has delivered nothing in the years he has been in Parliament. He built nothing in the HDC. Ask Dr (Roodal) Moonilal (Minister of Housing) how the houses we inherited (were from) when he was Minister of Housing.” She said the Opposition party did not have any policies or programmes to manage the economy except for a reduction on “transfers and subsidies” and she asked whether this meant a cut in old-age pensions and disabilities grants. “The Opposition Leader has a duty to tell us,” she said. “Are you going to cut jobs, are you going to cut pensions, are you going to cut child care grants and baby grants? Tell us what you talking about cuts because you must have a plan and programme that will help you manage our economy in this time of low oil prices.” Becoming more personal, the Prime Minister questioned the citizenship of PNM Mayaro candidate, Clarence Rambharat, who reportedly had stated that his family was resident in Canada while he was campaigning for the election. “I would like to know whether he has citizenship of Canada,” she queried. “Can he be a candidate? So let him answer us because if he is living here and his family is living there, the law in Trinidad and Tobago is clear: you cannot have somebody else citizenship. I would like to make sure you have your citizenship of Trinidad and Tobago and you did not give it up to get a dual citizenship. Tell us, are you a squatter in Trinidad and Tobago or a true citizen of Trinidad and Tobago?” she asked. The Prime Minister also knocked Opposition claims of discrimination in the allocation of projects, pointing out that several projects and schools had been constructed in Opposition-held constituencies including the Diego Martin Highway, the Chaguaramas boardwalk, the MIC centre in Diego Martin west, the Nursing Academy in El Dorado and the Carenage fishing depot. “We are not like the PNM when they declared Trinidad and Tobago to be PNM country,” she said “This is not PNM country. This must never again become PNM country, Trinidad and Tobago is for all of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.” newsday.co.tt/frontpage/0,205903.html
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 09:44:24 +0000
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