MND gives insight into plans for T&T

Apr 20, 2006

(Article appearing in the Trinidad Guardian on Thursday, April 20th 2006) 

National Movement for Development political leader Garvin Nicholas speaks to reporters during yesterday’s press conference at Crowne Plaza in Port-of-Spain.

Photo: Shirley Bahadur

BY JUHEL BROWNE

Those who have held the office of prime minister in T&T all ended up going mad with power, says Movement for National Development political leader Garvin Nicholas.

He made the assertion yesterday, as he declared that black colonialists have replaced those who ran T&T when the nation was a British colony.

Nicholas did so—even though he expressed the MND’s desire for the UK-based Privy Council to remain T&T’s final court of appeal.

His comment came during the launch of the MND’s draft manifesto for consultation at a press conference at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Port-of-Spain.

Nicholas was joined by MND executive members Dave Kowlessar, Mandavi Tewarie and Rajendra Arjoon.

He said a priority of the MND, which plans to contest all 41 parliamentary seats in the next General Election, is to reduce the amount of power now held by the Prime Minister.

“The Movement for National Development firmly believes that the Government in T&T has too much power. The leaders of the parties in the Government of this country have shown that they are incapable of dealing with the power that they have,” Nicholas said.

“They get totally mad. They do all sort of foolishness to the detriment of the population and we are saying that that has to change, so we are shedding power,” he said.

Nicholas said the MND’s proposal would include a senate, in which senators would be voted into office by way of proportionate representation and where permanent seats would be appointed to representatives of the labour unions, youth movement and commerce sector.

But while the MND wants to change the existing government structure, it sees no need to replace the Privy Council with the controversial Caribbean Court of Justice.

The Guardian asked Nicholas if this could not be perceived as the party seeking to hold on to the old days in reference to the old colonial days.

He said: “It is interesting that you talk about the old days because we are independent. We have been independent now for some time, yet still the people who benefit from our resources are the old colonialists. We don’t benefit from it,” he said.

He added: “We have moved from a situation of white colonialists to black colonialists and the holding on to the Privy Council is the least of our problems.”

Nicholas was also asked Nicholas who are the black colonists to whom he was referring.

“The leaders,” he replied.

Then he asked: “Who are the leaders now?”

Asked further whether he meant the nation’s political directorate.

“The political directorate,” he said.

Nicholas, an attorney-at-law, said the issue is not a lack of eminent jurists within the region and noted the appointment of former Chief Justice Michael de la Bastide as the president of the CCJ.

“It isn’t that we don’t have the eminently qualified people in our jurisdiction, the reality however is that we are a nation of 1.2 million people and there is a lot of perception of interference,” he said.

The Guardian pointed out to him that the CCJ is the meant to be the highest court of appeal for all the member states of the Caribbean Community.

“I am concerned about Trinidad,” he said.

“We are not running for the Caribbean.”

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