|
|
 |
Address by Mr. Winston Dookeran - Point Fortin | | Election 2010 Campaign Speech | | Author: | | Date: 2010-05-07 11:05:30 |
|
My people in Point Fortin, our citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, Point Fortin tonight is a place from which a new beginning is emerging in Trinidad and Tobago. This is a moment when all the energies of our people, that have been suppressed for so long will be freed, so that we can take on the challenges of tomorrow.
And this is a time when the reign of Patrick Manning is coming to an end. I felt it in the air, and I felt that deep sense of privilege to have on this platform of the Congress of the People - the People's Partnership - someone of the significance and stature to share this platform with us here tonight, and I say to my friend and comrade, Ancel Roget, "This is an historic presence that you have provided for this nation."
I know that because, in my understanding of the history of our country, the Oilfield Workers Trade Union has always been at the forefront of a genuine independence for our land, and today they have joined the political battle with the rest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago to create that independence of the 21st century.
My friends, our society has been described by many as stable but fragile. Stable because we have, at all times, followed the form of democracy, but fragile because we have never really embraced the substance of democracy. And that is the context in which this election is taking place. We have now to move towards embracing the substance of democracy. We can no longer afford to allow our children to inherit the form of democracy. And by that I mean, no longer will our institutions be undermined by those who hold power. When a Prime Minister feels that he can hound down the Chief Justice from office, or he can protect corrupt elements in his government; when a Prime Minister believes that he can use his political office to undermine his political opponents in his own party, you realize that we do not have a real democracy in our country.
For in a real democracy, there would have been outrage by the people, because even any one of those events in any real democracy, would have seen that Prime Minister packing. My friends, that is why I have said before that our job is to unlock the democracy that has been imprisoned to allow the outrage of the people to express itself in a new energy to take on the challenges of the 21st century. But I've also said, if we are to unlock our democracy, we will have to lock up a lot of people in the process.
And that is why here tonight I want reaffirm the commitment of the People's Partnership, not only to bring the society together, but to install a clean government for the 21st century in Trinidad and Tobago. What is the choice before us, is the choice of someone who believes that he can divide this country and rule it. It is no different to the thinking of the colonial governors of 50 years ago. Because what they [the PNM] inherited was the power without realizing that that power must be transferred to the people.
So for 50 years, this country has been led by those believe that the power belongs to them. Now, from now on, we will know that power of this country and its government resides in the people of this land, and that where it will stay.
So the choice is clear, and I speak not only to those of us who are here tonight, I speak to all of Trinidad and Tobago, who must come to realize that the time in which we can use divisions and divisiveness is over. Now is the time to use unity and unification to run this country. We have seen the Prime Minister attempting to introduce coded messages about racial aspects of our country. We have heard him more recently trying to invoke religious differences in this county, and we will hear him talking about geographic differences and divisions in this country. My friends, the time has come here in Point Fortin to say to him and to say to all those who form his government that we are now going to reject a government based on division and accept a government that is based on unity.
So, my friends, that's the choice before us. That is the choice. The old fears of yesterday are now being evoked to keep the government in office. Mr Manning's government has collapsed mid-term and has not collapsed just like that. It has collapsed because it has failed to govern. Under the pressures of his inability to govern, the government collapsed. And when the government collapsed, are you going to put it back in office so that they'll continue with what they have been doing? Or are you going to say, as sovereign people of this land, that we have come here now to install a new government, for a new beginning and for a new moment for our young people?
My friends, tonight I will not be able to speak at length, but I think I should raise one or two matters with you very quickly. Let us not complain about Mr Manning and his PNM. Let us simply fire them. Let us go out and fire them. Let us stop blaming them or complaining about them. Let us take the power in our hands and fire them so that they can never come back and impose that set of incompetence on the people of our land, our society and our future. But when we fire them, what shall we do? My friends, our energy will have to be now directed to create opportunities for people.
And I want to just raise just three or four things with you here today. Every platform I talk about different things. And I want to tell you that the backbone of building economic strength in any country does not lie in tall buildings and multinational corporations. The backbone lies in the people, and we shall develop an innovative programme for the growth of the small business sector in Trinidad and Tobago. For it is the businesses in many parts of the world, the small businesses that are the backbone of the economy. Even in the United States, it is the small businesses that have been the backbone of their economic prosperity and their economic strength.
And to do that, we shall adopt what has been described as the "set aside" policy, so that we will provide room for businesses, small businesses to grow by ensuring that not only the government but also the multinationals put aside and set aside part of their expenditure to allow the growth of the small business sector in Trinidad and Tobago. And Point Fortin, we know, has been built on the basis of small businesses here, and in spite of what we see with the rigs around us, the real strength of Point Fortin lies in the small business of this part of this country and I say to you, let us now look forward to the growth of the small business sector.
And to do that we shall introduce the modern concepts of Business Incubators so that the young generation will be brought into to allow them to understand how to make business work. I was in India not to long ago, and I was invited to visit their Business Incubator programme. It was most fascinating that the young people were being brought together to be taught every aspect of business. And when I spoke to the people who invited me in this remarkable experience and experiment in development, I asked, "What is the state of this Business Incubator, in terms of 'Is this the only one'?" They told me it was only six years ago that their government had embarked on that programme of Business Incubators and now they had 40 centres all over India, because is the backbone of the strength of the new prosperity of India.
My friends, we cannot sit back here and allow ourselves to quarrel about Mr Manning or to blame him. We must just fire him and get on with the job of building this nation, and building it on solid, solid ground.
There is a lot of talk about the involvement of our colleagues and friends from the labour movement - the Movement for Social Justice. I was so pleased when my colleagues from the labour movement indicated to me that they were now ready to involve themselves in the national politics - not as a pressure group anymore but as a participant in shaping the new Trinidad and Tobago.
There are some old fears that are being stirred up and Mr Manning is trying to build on those old fears. I think he was quoted as saying that the minimum wage will go up to $20 and the economy will flop. But the economy flop already! So what the hell he talking about the economy will flop dead?
So, my friends, have no fear. I have always felt that every citizen in this country puts to his front the entire benefit, and the entire interests of all the people. I heard it here tonight on my way down, when I listened to Mr. Ernesto Kesar talking on about productivity, talking about equity, talking about growth. I am telling you, the people who will allow this country to grow will come from the working class, not the business class alone, but the working class who wants this more than anyone else.
So the third plank of our policy is to initiate what I call a "Social Contract", where we can get agreement between prices and wages and productivity. So we will tackle the problems of the cost of living, so that we will tackle the problem of those whose wages are below what is required to have a decent life. And we shall tackle the problems of productivity where we will make our economy competitive. I am no magician but I am very sure if your purpose is sincere, and your objective is honourable, then reasonable men will come together, to work together to build this country forever.
Recently I had a meeting in the United States with a group of thinkers. They like the idea of thinking ahead, and their job is to create what they call the "future society". So I took the opportunity to ask them, "Could you look at my country, Trinidad and Tobago, and come up with five ideas that will help this country in the future?" They are serious people. They said that they would think about it. They said that with the new global world in which we live, there are new opportunities emerging. A small country is no longer limited by its size. It is no longer constrained by its distance from world markets. In fact, smallness has now become an asset in the new global era. Countries like Singapore and others have proven that. At one time, we used to think that, because we are small and we are so far away, we will be confined to an economic fortune that is below our expectations.
So I asked them to give me five ideas. They are still working on it, but they called me recently to say they had one idea to share with me. They said that the world education system is changing. Medical schools are in fact developing all over the world. Third world countries, what were called third world countries, are now teaming up with first world institutions. So the whole nature of education and education planning has changed. I said, "Yes, but what does that mean for my own little country?" And they came up with this idea: "You are located in the north of Latin America. You are an English-speaking country, and you are well placed as a nation to exploit the production of educated people for Latin America and indeed for North America." So I said to myself, "Well, that sounds like a good idea but how can we make it happen?" And they told me, and I will tell you, that the best place to locate such a facility of an international standard is on the southwest peninsula of Trinidad and Tobago, right here in Cedros, in Bocas, in Point Fortin, where you have everything here. It's an idea. I don't make promises. I make sure my ideas can be implemented before we offer them to the people. Mr Manning offers his ideas, knowing that they will not be implemented at all.
So, my friends, this concept of developing a University Complex in the southwest peninsula is one of the five ideas. There are other ideas. And as we go through this campaign, we will be taking our people to the 21st century, to the opportunities for the young people. We will not allow ourselves to be engaged in the quarrel of Mr Manning and Mr Rowley, who are shaking hands without shaking hands. We are not allowing ourselves to be diverted by all that is going on today about Mr Manning's "strength", that he is talking about a "weak leader".
My friends, you know and I know the strength of Mr Manning is weaker than my strength. Or else I would not have survived to be here, once again, to take my people forward, if it had not been for the strength within me to take this battle to its end. And until Mr Manning gets out of office, I will remain "weak" so that you shall become strong.
Those are diversions. Those are methods to divert the people from what is at stake. What is at stake is the future. What is at stake is the commitment of men and women who are prepared to shape that future. What is at stake is to make a government work for the people, not make the people work to keep the government in office. Because that is what they are doing. They are forcing the workers to keep them in office. I say you force the government to work for you and the way you do that is to get them out of that position.
There is a lot more we can talk about and a lot has been said already. But I want to say that we have been very fortunate to have attracted in this People's Partnership, people of commitment, loyalty and dedication, people of confidence, people who put the interest of the nation way beyond their own interests. And, as I was driving here to Point Fortin, I heard my friend, Mr Ernesto Kesar speaking to you, and I was so proud that a member of the labour class of this country could have called you to action for the national development of this country, and I say to him, my friend, I look forward to what you will be doing to contribute to the government of this land.
And to the people of La Brea, and I make a special appeal to all those were supporters of the COP, I know that you were disappointed that we did not have a candidate of our own there. But at this stage, that disappointment must allow us to believe that the greater good is to be able to move into a new day.
So, my friends, I say to you, "Come and line up behind Mr Ernesto Kesar." All my friends from Roussilac, many of them have spoken to me. All my friends from Grant Trace, all my friends from San Francique and all my friends from La Brea. La Brea was under the stewardship of my party from some time, and I say to my friends who were there, "Let us work as we have never worked before, because the moment that we are facing today is a unique one, and if we do not grasp it with two hands, we will have let the ball go."
Ernesto Kesar shall be our next representative of La Brea in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. And I say that. And I am sure that the leader of the United National Congress, I am sure I speak on her behalf, when she called on all her supporters to do so. But I go beyond that. I call on all those who have supported the PNM before to look into their hearts, look into the future that they want, look into the gimmickry that is now being perpetuated in this country, and ensure that the energy that they have as people can come up to save their society, to save their country, to save their communities and to save our nation. Come forward, my friends, who have supported the PNM. This is a unique moment. If it were not so, we would not have had Ancel Roget on this platform today, who has made this remarkable move to stand on a platform of the Congress of the People to let his voice be heard. And let the voices of all those who have supported the PNM be heard. This is a new beginning and we shall make it work.
So my friends, Mr Obika is a man who has always inspired me with his knowledge and sense of history. I attended many lectures that he gave. He has never wavered in his commitment to his people and tonight, after listening to him here, I say that you will have one of the strongest advocates for the People's interest in Point Fortin, and I have no hesitation in asking you to give him the authority and the mandate to speak on your behalf.
I don't have to tell you what the old representatives have been doing. You know that they have been silent. Now you have a man who shall speak on your behalf. Nyahuma Obika shall turn out to be not only a representative in Point Fortin who shall represent the people from Granville to Cedros and everywhere around, but he shall be an important voice in shaping the new independence in Trinidad and Tobago. I welcome you, my friend.
Tonight was a wonderful night here in Point Fortin. We continue this fight. Thousands and thousands of people are coming from all over. Wherever we go now, there is a new awakening. And that awakening is an awakening that they are trying to dull, and they are creating fear. They are creating fear. They believe that the people fear change. But you remember Martin Luther King in his historic mission started a long time ago, in which he said to his people that, "I have a dream." And he said to the people, "What you have to fear is fear itself." It is that dream that eventually led to the President of the United States of America being Mr Obama.
In other words, you must start with a dream if you want your future to be different. So even if you feel it's a dream, it is better to start with a dream than to start with a memory that has brought us to where we are.
So I say to you here today, as a member of the People's Partnership, let Trinidad and Tobago be awakened to its new possibility and its new energy. If there are any problems that will emerge in the partnership, I am here to hold it together, and to hold it together for you, for the next generation, and for all of us. That is what I pledge to you here today: to hold it together for the future generations of Trinidad and Tobago.
Thank you.
Winston Dookeran
Point Fortin
6th May , 2010
| User Comments |   |
|
|
Home 
Home
About
Contact
Donate