Former chairman of the Congress of the People (COP), Arouca/Maloney constituency councillor Rufus Foster appeared on an Independent Liberal Party (ILP) political platform in Sangre Grande on Thursday night, saying the COP’s political leader Prakash Ramadhar lacked leadership qualities.
“And I know based on my religious upbringing I needed to get out from that party. With the ILP I feel a sense of hope and I can pray here,” Foster said.
He said before he left the COP he had called Ramadhar some 50 times but on each occasion the calls went to voicemail.
“For some 50 times I had called Prakash Ramadhar and there was always voicemail. And at one time I texted him and asked why no answer and still he did not answer.
“At one time I saw him in person and asked him why he was not answering and he told me I was bullying him and walked off. Prakash Ramadhar is completely opposite to that of a good leader,” Foster added.
On the other hand, he said, for the past two weeks on each occasion that he called ILP political leader Jack Warner there was always an answer.
Warner, who said he was quite pleased with Foster’s decision, spoke about the high level of violence T&T was experiencing.
He then blamed Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar saying she had left this country’s borders unprotected and had banned corporal punishment in schools when she was education minister.
Warner said the community was also being “repeatedly raped” by quarry owners who gave nothing back.
“They come, they dig and they leave and they leave Toco/Sangre Grande much poorer for it. They leave scars and gaping holes for mosquitoes to breed,” he added.
On education, he said an investigation has to be conducted as to why so many young people were dropping out of school.
And those who completed school, he added, were unable to obtain jobs.
Regarding plans by UNC candidate for Toco/Sangre Grande Brent Sancho to build a stadium in the area, Warner described this as nonsense, saying this country already had several stadia which were underutilised
“So when Brent Sancho come to talk his foolishness and he will get this country in the World Cup, he did not even know how he reach the World Cup. And when he reach the World Cup the only goal this country score was when Brent Sancho score himself,” Warner said.
He also alleged that Persad-Bissessar did not have the courtesy to tell former sport minister Rupert Griffith that he was being replaced by Sancho.
“Poor Griffith, he didn’t understand what was happening. A kiss from Kamla is a kiss of death,” Warner said.
During his address, a video clip on the ILP’s candidates and short snippets of their speeches were expected to have been shown to the gathering.
But the video failed to show as it did the night before in Manzanilla during another ILP political meeting.
Somewhat perturbed by this, Warner said, “One is a mistake, two is a habit. My apologies for not satisfying you today. It won’t happen again. I won’t ever show it again. Doh worry.”
Manipulation for votes
Independent Liberal Party (ILP) chairman Rekha Ramjit, who also spoke, claimed the Government was attempting to ensure that certain people were moved into certain constituencies to ensure a certain outcome of the general election.
Referring to the government’s certificates of comfort and land for the landless programme, Ramjit said, “It worries me because it has shades of Section 34 for the protection and handing out of lands for certain people. I know that in Fyzabad persons are encouraged to go on State lands and I have to ask myself whether the decision to pass that act ... would now allow people who have been only on land in recent years to access the same privileges as people who have been on lands since 1990.
“Not only is it for protection of certain individuals but also to ensure a certain amount of manipulation,” Ramjit said.
She said unlike the PP the ILP would ensure that the certificate of comfort became a valuable document so that the land could be passed on to future generations.
With regard to housing, she added the ILP would ensure there was a transparent process to select applications.