UNC Delegates urged to get ready for 2015 election
Hundreds of delegates attended a special congress of the United National Congress (UNC) Saturday at the party’s Reinzi headquarters.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar called on the delegates representing all the constituencies in the country to get ready for the battles ahead and the political war in 2015. “Let us work together for the next few months and win again so together we can build a first world country where all of us would enjoy the benefits of a booming economy,” she said.
She also introduced the campaign manager for the 2015, Ambassador Rodney Charles who is leaving his post as T&T’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations to head up the UNC campaign for 2015.
Persad-Bissessar assured delegates that once the party adopts its new constitution it would set a date for the internal elections at which the membership of the party would choose all members of the national executive, including the political leader.
The congress passed four resolutions supporting the political leader.
The party’s Youth Arm extended its full support for the political leader for her “stellar contribution to the development of youth” and pledged its commitment to continue to work with the UNC’s National Executive (NATEX) to further the involvement of youth in the political decision making process of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Women’s Arm unanimously expressed its “fullest support to the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar as both Prime Minister and Political Leader of the UNC to continue to lead the country and our beloved party, as she has paved the way for women nationally and internationally.”
The resolution also pledged support the political leader in any internal election called by the national executive.
Edited highlight of the PM’s speech follows:
PM KAMLA RALLIES UNC TROOPS TO BE BATTLE READY FOR 2015
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Saturday rallied her troops in the United National Congress (UNC), urging them to get ready for the battles ahead to win the political war against the People’s National Movement (PNM) in 2015.
Speaking at a UNC Congress at the party’s Reinzi Headquarters in her capacity as political leader, Persad-Bissessar traced the history of the party and highlighted its paradigm shift with the introduction of a new style of participatory democracy with the People’s Partnership.
“That experiment in participatory democracy was unique in this country and the preferred way to go because we realized that single party hegemony was not the way to serve the people. We wanted our government to be a true government of the people … and that is what it has been,” she said.
The UNC leader also spoke about the renewal of the UNC constitution to conform to the changed realities of the country in the 21st century and also to take into consideration the need to embrace an extended political family while maintaining the distinct identity of the party as one dedicated to the service of the people, to justice, freedom and democracy.
She said one distinguishing feature of the coalition of national interests has been its dynamism and ability to argue over issues in order to arrive at the best decisions for the country. “We have moved on and will continue to adjust our policies as we go along because THE PEOPLE dictate what we must do, not a small group of men and women locked inside a room.”
In rallying the troops to get ready, Persad-Bissessar warned that the country risks going back to the pre-2010 days if the PNM is allowed to get back into government. “Your children won’t get computers (Rowley says they are duncy heads). They will stop the university campus in Debe and the hospitals in Couva and Penal; they will stop building police stations and bring back a blimp to spy on you and listen to your phone calls. All the rural development will stop!” she said.
“We know that. You know that. That is what you all suffered whenever the PNM was in Government! And the man who said the Manning government was the most corrupt ever in the history of T&T would embrace the same corrupt politicians and the same failed policies. You must never allow that. Your mission must be to keep the PNM out of government forever,” she declared.
She called on the hundreds gathered for the event to stand up and fight to beat the PNM in 2015. “Carry the message to every street corner in every community. Keep the flame ablaze and we will continue to deliver. That is a promise to every woman, man and child in this country,” she said.
“So let us work together for the next few months and win again so together we can build a first world country where all of us would enjoy the benefits of a booming economy.
“Let us defeat crime and put the gangs and gang leaders out of business. Let us build a just society where each of us would be equal, where no one would be denied the opportunity to grow and blossom, where everyone would be free, and free from fair…
“I ask you to join me and put on your war boots for the battles ahead. We will win this war.
“All I ask is that you believe … and that you join me in the service of Trinidad and Tobago. Because when we stand together, when we stand firm together, we can march as one … and when we march as one, there is no force on earth that can stop us.”
For further information please contact: Khadijah Ameen, Chair (Ag) Phone: (868) 788-3129 – email: ameen.khadijah@gmail.com