If Patrick Manning was still alive and prime minister of T&T, citizens would be benefiting greatly from his Vision 20/20 plan, former public utilities minister Mustapha Abdul-Hamid says.
Abdul-Hamid, who served in the People’s National Movement (PNM) government between 2001 to 2010, was one of a few former ministers who defended Manning’s legacy at a memorial service on Wednesday at the Southern Academy for Performing Arts.
“We have a lot to learn and I would hope that our present and future governments take pattern from Mr Manning and will consult or refer to his work. What this country sorely needs is to go back to 2010 and pick up from where we left off,” Abdul-Hamid said.
Wednesday marked 40 days since Manning died of acute myeloid leukemia at the San Fernando General Hospital. Still heartbroken, hundreds filled the Sundar Popo Theatre, where his former colleagues shared their memories and lit candles in his honour.
There were also performances by the Divine Echoes, the Presentation College, San Fernando choir, the Southerners Choir and Skiffle Steel Orchestra.
In his tribute, Abdul-Hamid backed Vision 20/20 as the most comprehensive plan for the country, saying while many criticised it, they were reaping the benefits.
He said even when Manning came to his Cabinet with a plan to invest in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), there were ministers who rejected it, saying if Venezuela decided to build a similar plant, it would have been a wasted investment.
He said through Manning’s persistence and careful planning, T&T rose to be one of the leading exporters of LNG.
But with advancements in fracking methods in the US, he said Manning knew the high profitability of LNG would expire and set about for a new prosperity plan for the next 20 years.
This plan included the setting up of an aluminum industry for which he had already found a partner in Brazil. Abdul-Hamid said that would have led T&T to manufacture and export products such as rims, furniture, utensils, vehicles parts and louvres.
Manning’s proposed Allutrint aluminum complex, which, was earmarked for the Union Industrial Estate, La Brea, was heavily protested against by environmentalists and the Opposition United National Congress and the Congress of the People.
The protesters cited pollution and long-term illness. However, Abdul Hamid said it was part of a plan for the industrialisation of the southwest peninsula.
Although Manning went ahead with the planning, it was scrapped by the People’s Partnership coalition who evicted the PNM from government office in the 2010 general election.
Policies, such as the Government Assistance for Tuition Expense (Gate), the Higher Education Loan Programme (Help), the Accreditation Council of T&T and expansion of skills and performing arts programmes were a testament to Manning’s focus on education. He said Manning was deeply loyal to country and was a man of integrity who did not live a luxurious life.
Hart did no wrong
One of Manning’s downfall in the 2010 election was said his defence of former Urban Development Corporation (Udecott) chairman Calder Hart, who was accused of corruption.
However, former housing, planning and the environment minister Emily Dick-Forde told the audience that Manning maintained Hart’s innocence.
“Ever the courageous and caring leader that he was, Mr Manning said to me in early June, ‘Emily, Calder Hart was not corrupt.’ I said, ‘I know sir,’ but I knew he was not trying to convince me because he knew that I knew that.
“He was not trying to convince me, he was expressing his deep concern about his personal loss and public hate that was unleashed on Mr Calder Hart for being a loyal and extremely hardworking soldier to Patrick Manning,” Dick-Forde said.
She said the entire elite of T&T continued to enjoy “to the max,” the works of Manning and Hart. She said she repented on behalf of the nation for the wrongs that were perpetrated on Hart and Manning, hoping that one day “the light will be turned on and many would be made ashamed.”
Not to blame for
election defeat
On May 24, 2010, a dejected Manning left Balisier House, Port-of-Spain, defeated and heckled by supporters who blamed him for a bruising general election loss.
But to PNM deputy political leader, Joan Yuille-Williams, party members should stop passing the blame, instead accept responsibility.
Williams admitted that there were difficulties within and outside the PNM camp, which led to Manning calling an election.
That, she said, was a decision he gave to the people on whether they wanted him to stay or not. She said the defeat had nothing to do with Manning calling the election early.
“I want to say now that a number of people blamed Patrick Manning for the loss of the election. I stand here on this platform and say I don’t blame him at all.
“One of the things that showed that he did not go out there to take anything that anybody else wanted is that he believed that, ‘If you don’t want me and you don’t like me, what I am doing is giving you a choice.’ Yes around that time he had some difficulties with some people, inside and outside,” Williams said.
She told the audience that Manning’s plan for his retirement from politics was to be a pastor. Even though his ill-health and death prevented that, she said she and her colleagues were recipients to several of his sermons.