Row over Manning’s talk with Robinson

PORT-OF-SPAIN — A new controversy has flared into the open in relation to the sudden prorogation of the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament at midnight on Saturday, April 6, following the failure, after two days of meetings of the House of Representatives, to elect a Speaker.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning has now admitted to having discussed the issue of prorogation with the president even before the House was convened on April 5, and without the knowledge of his attorney-general, Glenda Morean.

The former attorney-general of the previous United National Congress government, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, had charged that Manning had acted in “bad faith” in seeking to engage former Prime Minister and UNC leader, Basdeo Panday, in discussion to elect a Speaker while he had already set the stage for prorogation.

But the UNC’s charge of a “political conspiracy” involving Manning and Robinson on the prorogation brought a swift denial from Attorney-General Morean who explained this could not have been true since the president only knew about the move for prorogation around 4:25 pm on Saturday, April 6 when she sent him a letter on the matter.

After Thursday’s regular cabinet meeting, however, Manning was to admit to the media that the attorney-general did not know about his meeting with the president on the prorogation of Parliament.

He, nevertheless, emphasised that there was “no conflict” between them since when she spoke on the matter earlier in the week, she was unaware of his meeting with Robinson. “Not everything the PM does is discussed with the AG,” declared Manning.

Now the UNC is maintaining its own position of, as ex-AG Persad-Bissessar said, “collusion to subvert our constitution and our parliamentary democracy… It demonstrates that when the selected prime minister was holding discussions with our political leader in Parliament, he was acting in bad faith as he had already arrived at a position with the president to prorogue.”

Meanwhile, in another related post-election development, the court has freed the two UNC candidates of charges of having falsely signed declarations as nominees for the 2000 general election.

The two, William Chaitan and the calypsonian Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters, had always maintained their innocence. Peters, who successfully contested the December 10, 2001 election as well, said yesterday that the PNM was “vex with me because I am with the UNC” and that was why they had accused him of signing a false declaration with the knowledge that he (and Chaitan) held dual citizenship.

Kidnapped’ two turns up

GEORGETOWN — A young woman and a city businessman who were reported kidnapped during Tuesday’s hijacking and robbery incidents in Georgetown, have turned up unharmed and were yesterday assisting the police in their investigation.

The 48 year-old businessman, Ramjeet Ramphal, and 23 year-old Marcellen Basdeo had left dancing classes at the Georgetown School of Ballroom and Latin Dance at the Tower Hotel in the woman’s Toyota car when they were forced to pull off the road by a gang of four men who hijacked the vehicle.

This hijacking incident was related to two others that day by the police and they were unable to explain the whereabouts about the businessman and the woman before Thursday morning.

The police said yesterday that all they were prepared to say at this stage was that the two were assisting them with vital information relating to the hijacking incidents.

No progress has yet been made in the police hunt for the five armed fugitives from justice who escaped from the Georgetown Prison on February 23, killing in the process one prison officer and critically wounding another.

CARICAD’s Policy Forum

BRIDGETOWN — Over 40 representatives of the region’s governments, private sector, labour movement as well as the Caribbean Public Services Association will be involved in a two-day Policy Forum on Managing Change in Guyana later this month.

Organised by the Barbados-based Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD), the “2002 Policy Forum”, sixth in a series, will take place on April 24-25.

The keynote address will be delivered by Dr Ashwell Thomas, Group Human Resource Director of the Goddard Group of Companies, headquartered in Barbados.

A major presentation is also to be made by Dr Eddie Greene, assistant secretary-general of the Caribbean Community on ‘Human Resource Development for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy’.