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Address to Local Government Councilors by The Hon. Winston Dookeran | | Media Release | | Author: | | Date: 2010-07-29 17:07:48 |
| COP Political Leader Hon. Winston Dookeran's Address to the Local Government Councilors Elect at COP Operations Centre, Chaguanas on Tuesday 27th July, 2010.
It was not a special moment only for those who have won their seats and I'll say a little more about that in a moment.
It's not only a special moment for the Congress of the People, which has done a remarkably well both in this election and in the General Elections that preceded it, given the circumstances under which we began a new engagement with the people, but for me it's a very special moment for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
This politics in our country was frozen. It was under siege. It appeared as if it cannot be broken. All the forces were at work to ensure that the old equilibrium in politics remain intact. And for almost all our independence period that was so. It was a heroic effort on the part of some of us to say that we shall break the politics, because we knew if we break the politics of yesterday, we'll create the freedom for tomorrow.
I want to tell you that you come from a tradition that began to break this politics. First in 2006, and secondly within one year thereafter, when you were called to the polls to contest a General Election. By that time, many thought that it was not possible and it was almost all over. But what kept this country alive was an idea. The Congress of the People is an idea and it's an example of where an idea catches on in a country and it cannot be stopped again.
So that is why I say it's an important moment for our people and our country, because it is an idea, it's a different idea. It's an idea that belongs to the 21st century politics. It is an idea that has rejected all that we call the politics of the past. It's an idea that aspires towards a new nobility in politics. And that is why I have never been perturbed, when I lost so much in the so called negotiations, because I knew that the idea would one day triumph in Trinidad and Tobago. This is the beginning of the road for that triumph. I have no doubt!
They tell me I'm not a politician, but I am the only politician who can win my seat and get 25 other people to win their seat at the same time. This is a remarkable victory, and I want to sincerely congratulate you individually and all those who made it possible. It was a total effort. And I will tell you what made me proud about this Local Government Election. Frankly I did not take a very active role. I was informed, but I said let the party evolve on its own. And I must say, as it always happens when you give responsibility to others who are in office, they rise to the occasion, and Hulsie Bhaggan rose to the occasion, from the very beginning, to the very end. Of course she had wonderful support from many of you, all who are here from the executive. I wouldn't call the names, because I might miss one or two, but I think you know that the support she was able to mobilize around her, has given us a great sense of pride. And as I speak, in walks Vernon De Lima, and I want to tell you once more, that it is Vernon De Lima who opened the door to the politics of change, that took place in Trinidad and Tobago in 2010. And for those who may not remember, in this very room he stood up and made certain allegations on the issue of the infamous Calder Hart affair. And no sooner had he done this, he received a letter from the attorneys of Calder Hart and Company that he should either withdraw or they will take him down the shoots. Now Vernon is just one person, while Calder Hart had the entire establishment behind him, the government and the institutions. We met. I remember the meeting that morning, a few of us, when he received that letter and Vernon started the meeting by saying "I didn't come here to ask you what you to do. I have decided that I am going to fight this!" And he decided that he was going to fight this and not compromise because he knew he was right. The events played out thereafter. The legal team got in the act, they got the evidence and they opened the door to the secret government that was in place. They unfolded the secrecy that was keeping the system intact and once the secret was exposed, Calder Hart had to go, Manning had to call the election and The People's Partnership was born.
The People's Partnership is part of the new politics of Trinidad and Tobago. There is no need for divisions and separations. The People's Partnership is the new politics in Trinidad and Tobago and it belongs to you, as indeed it belongs to everyone else who has joined up. But you must take credit that you were the one who stood firm and who kept to the idea that I spoke about. And what I have found most interesting about the Congress of the People is that as we move, we are always reinforced by new people, new faces, new energy and new impetus and today is another example of it.
And I just want put your victory in historical perspective. For now, Congress of the People will not only have seats in Parliament, but we have a firm footing on the ground in this country. They used to say we did not have a firm footing on the ground. Now, they cannot say that anymore and that's the only thing that prevented us from winning in the 2007 election.
I saw on the list 25 winners, two of whom I believe came by association with NJAC out of the 41 seats that were allocated to us. By any standards, any objective observer would know that these seats were supposed to be hard seats. I don't know what is a hard seat, because I don't consider any seat hard but I know people used to say "you take the hard seat we'll take the easy seat". We say "we'll take the hard seats and make them easy". This is what lead me to fight Tunapuna.
When we were under duress, I said I'll take the hard and make it easy. So a movement has started and you happen to be the new foundation blocks for this movement. The idea is now converted into real political movement. Movements are not generated by sitting in a room and structuring it. I knew that a long time ago when I was at university and all my colleagues used to tell me how to change the country. All sorts of discussions, all sorts of papers and I told them, the only to way to changing the country was to get down with the people and let the people change the country. That's 30 years ago. I remember that conversation well when I told my colleagues and they said why are you walking out of a secure job and a very great profession ahead of you. And I said no, if you really want to change, you have to get involved. And that is what you have done. You have now come and you have now identified with the people of our country. You have specific responsibilities but within the context of those specific responsibilities, you have a larger goal. Always remember that. You have specific responsibilities in your local government councils that you must discharge, but there is larger goal, which is to hold the reins to ensure that the idea which generated this movement remains an idea that will bear more and more fruits. Where it will go and how it will develop will depend on the people's response to our discharge of our duties. And you are now the leaders in this. And as we were taking the photograph I said that this was a real moment for me as a person. I now feel that I have a party that can run on its own. And I have for the first time real politicians in the Congress of the People for they can win elections too. What a great relief. And that's why I said I had to be here. It was almost a spiritual moment for me to come and share these thoughts with you, to congratulate you and to put it into perspective. Keep your banner flying high. It's the idea you support when you support the Congress of the People. It's an idea of the nobility of the politics that you support, when you support the People's Partnership. The People's Partnership is the current manifestation of the idea of new politics. Always remember that.
So there is no questioning the idea of abandoning the idea that you created, becoming successful. What we have to do is reinforce it. What we have to do is build it. What we have to do is take ownership of it. What we have to do is make it real and perhaps, Hulsie is right, we must take all the seats in the East West corridor in due course, in order for the idea to be deeply routed in Trinidad and Tobago. So my friends, I thought I'd share these thoughts with you, because this to me is a special moment, and for you it is an even more special moment. The baton is now moving into your hands, and as I look I see here, some young faces that I had not seen before. I walked with Keisha in Port of Spain. It was one of the most delightful walk and I'm so happy to see you here Keisha. Hard seat they say, but you made it easy. And so many of you others, Kenneth spoke earlier on, hard seat they say, you too made it easy, and you were not induced by any inducements to make you lose. You won it on your own, because if you have won it with your integrity intact, you would have achieved all, and have not allowed yourself to be compromised.
So I want to congratulate all of you sincerely. In due course I'll meet you personally. I must say that in pure political terms the fact is that we now have control of the Arima Borough Council. This is the new Flagship for the Congress of the People, and Wendy Lee Yuen did a remarkable job there, and we must congratulate her. And Manohar Ramsaran brought home one of the two seats in Enterprise by a margin of 2:1 in a hard seat, an impossibly hard seat. Narsingh we must congratulate you. I looked through the list and I saw so many discovery of the new politics emerging. This is the new politics. It is a politics that is broken from the past. It is an idea that will in fact be the inheritance that our children will have. So let us work and make sure it happens.
I congratulate everyone. I want to tell you that between now and the installation of the candidates we must be clear about our own approach to that exercise. We have to offer the right persons for Aldermen and for Mayors or Chairmen as the case may be. In certain cases we have a clear responsibility and in other cases we have a shared responsibility. Whatever it is, we must discharge it and bear in mind that we have a higher goal to perform. We must be prepared. We must do some homework, we must get ourselves organized and the tradition here is that the party, after consultation with all the relevant councilors, come to a conclusion. When you go the council, you go with a firm position as to what you intend to do, so you need to get guidance. Prakash Ramadhar who is not here today, because I left him at the same function I attended, will be working with you in discussions of the issues, along with Hulsie and along with Joe Toney and I want Vernon De Lima to join the team because I want a good lawyer on the team this time around. We need your support, the party needs your support, the executive needs your support as we get on with the job of serving the people, serving the people and serving the people, as the Prime Minister would say.
I thank you very much.
WINSTON DOOKERAN
Political Leader
Congress of the People
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