|
|
 |
Address by Winston Dookeran - D'Abadie/O'Meara | | Election 2010 Campaign Speech | | Author: | | Date: 2010-05-17 11:05:23 |
| Thank you.
I can feel it in the air. I see the energy on the ground. Goodbye, Mr. Manning. The moment is coming. At last it is happening in our country and in D'Abadie/O'Meara.
A new political space is emerging in our land and the People's Partnership is about to be the next government of Trinidad and Tobago. So, my friends, we must get down to business. We have had a campaign. We have heard all the different arguments and counter arguments. The people's verdict has been given and we must now get down to business. The reason for this campaign is to let the people make a choice. There is a lot of information. There is a lot of misinformation. There are a lot of facts. There are a lot of rumours. There are a lot of accusations and there are a lot of protestations. You have seen everything in an election campaign. We have even become to have isolated incidents of violence. And we in the Congress of the People and in the People's Partnership say to you: Be cool. Be cool for the next week. Provoke no one. Exercise your democratic right fairly and squarely. Walk into those polling stations and be cool. Let nothing stop the verdict of the people. Let no fear emerge in our minds. Let no one provoke us into anything to prevent the verdict of the people from being given. Let us be cool for the next eight days. And let us work and start the road to build back Trinidad and Tobago and to put our country back on track.
As I walked through the crowd here tonight in D'Abadie/O'Meara, I felt the sense of youth power. I see in the crowd young faces, happy smiles, yearning eyes. I see the young in search of a future. When I was in Beetham Estate some time ago, there was a sign that said, "For us, the future is cancelled." My friends who are young people here today, I want to let you know that that yearning in your eyes, that desire for a future, that hope that this country can be safe again, that sense that we can hold things together and deal with our health problems, deal with our sporting problems, is in your hands the young people of Trinidad and Tobago. I say to you I am totally energized by your presence here because this is what I knew would happen when I started on the road of building the Congress of the People in Trinidad and Tobago, and now the People's Partnership, because I know some day will come when the youth will get up in the revolution and bring the change that Trinidad and Tobago must have.
Anil said something in his speech today that made me think, and he is right. When the People's Partnership was put together, we said we are bringing political forces, political forces like NJAC, who was in search of a new independence for Trinidad and Tobago. Political forces like the Movement for Social Justice, an old voice but a new party, in search of social justice. Political voices like the TOP - Tobago Organization of the People, who have been searching for a new governance relation between Trinidad and Tobago. Political voices like the United National Congress, which has been at all times a defender of democracy of Trinidad and Tobago over its many years of existence and we applaud them for staying so and being the anchor for the People's Partnership. Congress of the People, which stood as a beacon, looking ahead and looking towards the future and saying it is the time to bring good governance back to Trinidad and Tobago. But tonight, I want to add, there is one other group that is within the People's Partnership. It has no formal name. It is not recognised as a political entity on its own. It is those in the PNM who do not belong to the Manning's PNM and are now part of the People's Partnership of Trinidad and Tobago.
And I welcome that new group in the People's Partnership and I welcome all those who have seen the light and who are yearning for that different future, not to accept the politics of failure but to embrace the politics of success. Not to simply say that we must accept the politics of exclusion but to embrace the politics of inclusion. Not, my friends, to sit back and say that nothing can happen. You know what you have. When you don't know what you get, when anything I have I want to get rid of now, because whatever I get, will be better that what I have.
That is what Mr. Manning is telling his people, invoking the fear of change, and all that we are doing is searching for the ray of hope. Whilst he invokes fear, we create hope. And that's what we are here today, and that's what your presence is all about. And the young people today, they are making a statement. They are making a statement that the future is ours and we shall take it back. That's the statement you are making. You are not going to put your future in the hands of those who have hidden corruption, in the hands of a Prime Minister who has protected corruption in this country. You know the story. I don't have to tell you what has happened with Calder Hart, when he who went and tip him off and say, "Get out of this country before they take you on." And then tried to call an election so the people will forget it. And after that, he will have his mandate to say "Let's move on." The people shall not forget that, and in this election they are going to say, "No, we want justice. We want clean government. We want a government that we can trust, and we want people who have had a track record of being trusted in Trinidad and Tobago." And we want our money back.
So, our young people, I know that in your hearts that's what you want and I want to give you the courage that this is the road that you have to take, and the bridge that you have to cross, and the courage to feel that you must move forward and move forward with great expectations. Our society today is bedeviled with discontent. Everywhere we go, there are always protests, there are always complaints. Whether it is on the aluminium smelter or the Arima hospital. Whether it is on the water system in Arima, wherever we go, there is discontent. This is an oil-rich country. This is a country that has had too many resources for yet another time, but the very basic needs of our people remain unsatisfied. And the first job of your new government is to change the way we spend our money, and spend our money to satisfy the basic needs.
The workers in the country who have to work and to earn a living, must be given a sense of dignity. The CEPEP workers must be brought into the mainstream to build a life of sustainability for themselves, not to be relegated to become workers to vote pad for a corrupt government that has finished its day in Trinidad and Tobago. The senior citizens of our country and our public servants, who have retired for the last 10 and 15 and 20 years, must now come into the mainstream of the benefits of this country. They must not be called upon to live on incomes that are way below even the old age pension today. And I have met many public servants, particularly former public servants, particularly in my constituency of Tunapuna, and they have told me that their incomes cannot change, and the cost of living is rising, and even the senior citizens were getting more than them. I say that that is one wrong that shall have to put right when we get back into office.
So, my friends, I do not want to cry on the ills of the society. I do not want to build a political career on what is your complaint or what and how you want to blame it on. I do not want to be able to create a false opportunity for people. That would be highly irresponsible. And therefore I said we must now get down to the work and the business of governing. And tonight, I just want to give you a purview of some of the things that we shall put into place as we begin the business of governing.
For three years, the People's Partnership and the Congress of the People have been doing the work. You know it is our legal team that brought Calder Hart to his knees and has now left him wherever in the world. Two simple men, two lawyers in this country, Mr. Timothy Hamel-Smith and Mr. Vernon De Lima, we owe them a debt of gratitude. But they have been working. We know the economics team under the leadership of Dr. Patrick Watson, a professor of applied economics at the university, has put together an entire programme on the state of the economy, and we have made it public. Recently, I have met with the chambers, and we shall be meeting with unions, and we shall be meeting with civil society, with the economics team under the chairmanship of Dr. Patrick Watson, to talk about how we shall move forward. In other words, while Mr. Manning politicking, while Mr. Manning is creating fear and is trying to generate confusion, and is trying to talk about all these unessentials in the country, we are preparing quietly to take over on May the 25th.
And you know I'm a quiet man, and when I act, my voice is longer, is longer than anybody else in this country. So, my friends, I want to share with you only 12 points from what we call the 120 days of immediate action. And when you read the manifesto, which was officially launched yesterday, you will get the entire framework which will govern this country for the next five years.
But tonight, I only have time to read to you some of the actions that will take place within the first 120 days and I now quote:
Number 1: Every child going on to secondary school from the SEA will be provided with a laptop to begin their secondary school education.
Number 2: We will begin addressing the issue of securing and expanding GATE
Number 3: We will rescind the proposal for the property tax, and instead we shall provide incentives for a growing home ownership industry in Trinidad and Tobago for the young, for the middle class and for the senior citizens. While they tax the property, we shall build your initiative to acquire property in Trinidad and Tobago.
Number 4: We will begin an aggressive programme to fix all leaks in WASA pipelines, and establish an emergency response unit for monitoring systems' dysfunctional nature, unplanned disruptions and crisis management in the water system in Trinidad and Tobago.
Number 5: We will begin the process of establishment of a Ministry of the People, so you won't have to go and protest all over the place. You won't have to keep complaining all the time. You won't have to remain a people quarreling with ourselves. We will set up the machinery where all that will be channeled into an action, and you shall become the sector of the new government of Trinidad and Tobago.
We will prepare the immediate action plan for containing criminal activities and reducing the number of murders. The first phase will be from June 2010 to December 2010, as we aggressively try to remove violence and murders from our country, as we express the political will and resolve that that is our number one priority, and a government does not owe itself any credit if it cannot make this country safe and safe for all.
We will initiate the process to make every police station a centre for crime containment and reduction. Notice the change in the purpose. Crime fighting, community policing, statistical information gathering, and communication linked to the national operations centre, and we shall establish at the start, five model stations so that the rest can develop later, hitting the problem at the heart.
We will replace the senior citizens grant with old age pension, and increase it to $3000.00 per month.
We will establish a LIFE fund for life-saving surgery for children, at the level of 100 million dollars, and this fund will be administered by an independent body in a transparent and accountable manner. We will the people govern themselves. My friends, we will begin the introduction of camera technology at traffic lights, and set in motion an efficient system of handling traffic offenders. We cannot allow our traffic offenders to go unchallenged. We have to put.quickly, safety on the roads of our country.
We will initiate the forensic audit of Petrotrin and other state bodies where there is grounds for suspicion of misconduct similar to what transpired in UDECOTT. Justice must be done. We must get back our money, friends.
And we shall establish an economic development board, which will consist of stakeholders, to play an advisory role in policy formulation. I have read just a few aspects of the immediate action plan. There are many others. But I can't use this opportunity to ask you to stay on. But, over the next week, we will be discussing this and other things. And there are seven pillars upon which we shall build a new Trinidad and Tobago.
So my friends, we are now in the business of governing. The election will soon to be over. We must remain cool. We must remain focused. We must remain committed to that future that is we are seeking. But you have to discharge a function on May the 24th. And I say to you here today, the People's Partnership has been able to put up candidates of the highest caliber in Trinidad and Tobago on these seats?? from Arima to Tunapuna. Anna Maria Mora, who spoke to you earlier, a professional psychologist who has now decided to put her bucket down in the people's business - a major step on her part. I want to congratulate her for so doing, and I seek your support to make her the next parliamentary representative for Arouca/Maloney. Rodger Samuel who came in - I think he is somewhere around - a committed man, a man of the cloth who has given himself to the people's business. A man whose integrity as a person and dedication of service to the people of Arima cannot be questioned. I commend to you Rodger Samuel as the member for Arima.
Lopinot/Bon Air, we have a great educator. A man who has studied education and he is not here tonight because I understand he is having a similar meeting in his constituency. But I commend to you a true son of the soil, a true child of the Congress of the People, Dr Lincoln Douglas.
Then, of course, you have what you heard before. And what we know of this man, he is going to be the most feared parliamentarian in the next parliament of Trinidad and Tobago - the most powerful advocate of the people's business, a man who believes his word and his deeds must work together. And I say to you, Anil Roberts must make history here in D'Abadie, make history here as we remove the tax lady and put the people's man in charge of your affairs. Leave no stone unturned, make no mistakes. Don't miscalculate. Don't do what "Taxeira" does by miscalculating our tax. You calculate your votes and get Anil into office for the next...?.
Then, of course, in order to complete what I will expect to be an upset victory in this part of the country - an upset victory because we are moving in this part of the country that people have said is PNM territory. My friends, you and I know that there is no more PNM territory in this country. This is now COP's territory. COP's territory and you are now being called upon to christen the COP's territory in Trinidad and Tobago and a permanent place in the parliament of this country and also in the Cabinet of this nation.
You have a special responsibility. Because this part of the country has been relegated to become the backwaters and the backyard of PNM policies. You have been on the stage of neglect for all these years. I think you were told that, "Arima is bush country." This part of the country has been in a state of defense?? The PNM is run from Port of Spain and from the mansion of the Prime Minister. He has no interest in the eastern part of our country. The Congress of the People has put down roots in this part of the country. Deep roots, roots that are going deeper and deeper, and we shall now see the flowering of those roots into permanent trees in this election. And I called on you here to let us create an upset victory in this country, because the whole nation is looking at what these five seats will do.
And that is why, as the political leader of the Congress of the People, I have joined my colleagues to be one of those seats in Tunapuna. I have put everything at stake as the political leader to that we can create in this part of the country, in the eastern part of the country, an upset victory, the voice of reason, the voice of conscience, the voice of the future will now emerge from the eastern part of the country in these constituencies. That is your psychological and philosophical challenge. That is your political challenge. If you are prepared to remain the backwaters of the PNM and the backyard of their policy, and remain the people who can always complain, who want to blame, who want to quarrel. I say to you, those days are done. Don't blame anyone. Don't blame Mr. Manning. Don't quarrel with him. My friends, don't complain about him. If you want to come into the mainstream of the future, just fire him at the next election on May the 24th.
Thank you so much. I look forward to your verdict. The country looks forward to your verdict. The world is looking forward to your verdict, for this election has create an international interest. The entire world is looking to see what will Trinidad and Tobago do. Will they put back a government that has created a reputation in industrial affairs that we must now be ashamed of? Will they put back a government which has failed them? The world is looking at these five constituencies here in particular. For we hold the balance of power in the country's parliament, and I want you to understand that - that politics is about power, and you have the chance to become powerful in Trinidad and Tobago. Please take it. Please join it. I stand with you to work towards the creation of that power, the building of that new society that we talk about, and protecting your future and your children's future, and the future of all. But moreso, the future of the young people of eastern Trinidad.
Thank you very much.
| User Comments |   |
|
|
Home 
Home
About
Contact
Donate