By Stephen Kangal
September 24, 2008
Reasonable citizens and commentators are fast coming to the conclusion that PM Manning has pre-empted the yet-to-determined verdict of the people of T&T. He has now taken T&T, at enormous public expense, diplomatic hype and great bravado beyond the political point of no return on his proposed union with at least three other Caricom States. He justifies this cart-before-the -horse modus operandi on the basis that a private club of which he is the jefe, that is to say the PNM, some fifty two years ago invoked political integration as one of its bye-laws.
Continue reading Point of No Return on Political Union
In the face of the unforgivable, non-public disclosure of the text of the August 14 MOU as well as the disrespectful-to-the- people silence on the obligation to outline the compelling economic, political and trade considerations that underpin and drive the urgency of PM Manning’s proposed political union with three OECS countries there has arisen, quite understandably a range of informed speculation on what really motivates the mind of Manning. Many believe that personal (hubris) and subjective (legacy) considerations dominate, determine and drive his political union initiative.
T&T has a tradition in being tardy in establishing maritime boundaries with its neighbours until it was unilaterally hauled before a compulsory UN Arbitral Tribunal by Barbados, spent millions of pounds in the costly litigation and an unfair and punitive boundary was imposed on us. It took us seventeen years to conclude the 1990 Treaty with Venezuela and we have been in discussions on the subject with Barbados since 1989.
THE Beijing Olympics are coming to a close as I write on Friday morning. Having just savoured the world-record-breaking run of Team Jamaica (4 x 100M in 37.10 seconds) and seen the Trinidad and Tobago quartet win silver, I ask myself: what more can any ardent sports fan ask for? Oh, I felt for the Jamaican women’s relay team as the bane of baton-passing struck them out of sure-gold. I didn’t feel as hurt for the USA’s men’s and women’s teams that suffered a similar fate yesterday. I write that off to the braggadocio that has become the trademark of the Americans-until now.
ONE week spent in Jamaica is far too little time to assess the state of the country or to enjoy its many scenic and special attractions. Most of the latter are way up the mountains or beyond, on its tourist-oriented north coast. Kingston itself is a city of stark contrasts. Like most of its sister cities in the region, it has enclaves that exude wealth-colonial bungalows set on over-sized, manicured plots, with newer, impressive mansions perched on hillsides surrounding the city.
In the build up to Wednesday’s meeting with newly elected PM Thompson of Barbados, PM Manning must be briefed comprehensively and clinically on the problems and issues that contributed to the deterioration of T&T/Barbados bilateral relations during the regime of former Prime Minister Owen Arthur. He must work assiduously to pre-empt similar mistakes from recurring during the Thompson watch and to frame the development of our future relations in a mutually beneficial manner.
The damaging legacy bequeathed by the Barbados Labour Party’s dethroned Ex-Prime Minister, Mr. Owen Arthur in contributing to the turbulence that marred and blemished T&T/Barbados relations for the fourteen years of his Prime Ministership must not be allowed to accompany him unnoticed and unrecorded as he rides into the political sunset of Barbados. He personified the traditional “Baje” who is always one -step ahead of the unsuspecting and accommodating Trini.