UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says any of the party’s candidates who are elected and who do not put the interests of the people first will be removed from office.
Speaking at the UNC’s presentation of candidates for the 2025 general election at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya, on April 5, she said the party made some changes to ensure the best candidates were selected. The UNC coalition which includes the Progressive Empowerment Party, Congress of the People and trade unions are contesting 39 seats.
Of the five who were labelled dissidents for not toeing the UNC party line, only two presented themselves as possible candidates for their constituencies. Former MP for Tabaquite Anita Haynes-Alleyne and former Mayaro MP Rushton Paray were rejected as candidates. Haynes-Alleyne was replaced by Sean Sobers and Paray by Nicholas Morris.
Former Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh, former Caroni Central MP Arnold Ram and former Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram were not selected to contest their seats. They were replaced by former Princes Town MP Barry Padarath, former Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee and UNC deputy political leader Jearlean John respectively.
Also, former police officer Roger Alexander was selected to contest the Tunapuna seat.
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Speaking to the candidates, Persad-Bissessar said they were allowed to be at the top to serve the people and asked them to remember the party’s history of struggle and service.
“We have organised ourselves in a very strategic way to serve the people of our country. I know that some of you have put yourselves forward. Many of you have worked in the trenches for the UNC, and there will always be a space and a place for everyone who has helped to build this party and who will help us take the tray on the 28th of April.
“Many times I have seen people become overly attached to trappings of office. I want to make it clear: Anyone, and I mean anyone, who does not serve the people but who suffers the people around them will be removed from office.” This country does not have a right to recall elected MPs.
Persad-Bissessar also questioned what right the government had to ask where she would get the money to deliver the promises she had on various political platforms.
Previously, she said she would increase the salaries of public sector employees by ten per cent or more, lower corporate taxes, remove property tax, lower the price of fuel by increasing the fuel subsidy, remove the seven per cent online tax, remove VAT on 7,000 basic food items, build a Spiritual Baptist Secondary School, expand the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme and scholarships, reinstate the laptop distribution programme in schools, restart the Petrotrin refinery and more.
She said the PNM government wasted over $17 billion over the past ten years buying paintings for $3 million, building the Tarouba Stadium for $210 million, purchasing the Buccoo Estate for $174 million, restoring President’s House for $89 million, paying the family of Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi $250 million in rent for the use of four properties, and she claimed $3 billion was missing in the Auditor General’s report and more.
She said they could have used that money to pay workers their back pay and benefits, and still have billions of dollars left over. She said none of those things benefited the average person, but the UNC would find the money because it had a robust economic transformation plan to stimulate growth and alleviate poverty.
“You know when is time to take care of themselves, they have money. When it comes to benefiting workers and ordinary people, they cannot find money. And now they want to ask me, ‘Where will I get the money?’”
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She said they just needed to look at her track record when she was prime minister. She said the UNC created 55,000 new jobs, had no new taxes and did not bankrupt the treasury.
“I assure you tonight that the money is there, and that with our economic transformation plan, we will create additional revenue streams and use the money to benefit the people of TT.”
Persad-Bissessar said the legacy of this PNM government after a decade and more than half a trillion dollars spent was one of debt, deficits, destabilisation, death, destruction, bribes and broken promises. She said bloodshed, bankruptcy, banditry, betrayal, butchery, brutality, bullying and bawling were what people would get under a PNM government led by PM Stuart Young.
She said Young was out of touch with the struggles of the average person and was too busy with the affairs of his family and friends to have time to concern himself with the people.
“If, after three years of tears, heartbreak, depression and neglect, he comes now, weeks before a general election, to mamaguy the family of the Paria divers to shamelessly use them as public relations in the election campaign, we say to you Stuarty: That ain’t wukkin here tonight.”
On April 3 at a post-Cabinet media briefing, Young announced the government would pay $1 million to the lone survivor, and $1 million each to the families of the four men who died in the Paria tragedy on February 2022.
She encouraged everyone to vote for the UNC’s alliance on April 28 because, she said, when the UNC wins, everybody wins.
