UNC can stand alone

United National Congress (UNC) political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar came out swinging at the party’s national assembly yesterday as she declared the UNC was strong enough to stand alone and defeat the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) in any election.

In a fighting mood, she told the pumped-up crowd at the Couva South Hall, Camden road, Couva, that the UNC had made inroads into the marginal constituencies saying the population was fed up with the untruths being spread by the Dr Keith Rowley administration.

The Opposition Leader said the latest example of the Government’s deception occurred when they attempted to use the Newsday to spread misinformation that it had helped the two young boys who were trapped in Syria.

She said the Newsday columnist had since resigned from the paper.

“And just today we are hearing more disturbing news. A Newsday columnist who helped bring home those poor children trapped in Syria, has resigned because the Newsday ran a story with the government bragging how they rescued those children. And that is a lie. And when this journalist told the Newsday that was not true, they said nothing.

“Now I don’t blame the Newsday. I blame a tyrannical Government that is intimidating our free press. You better say what we tell you or else.

“It is a disgrace that this Government did nothing to help these children. But it is a bigger disgrace that they would lie and say they did.”

Newsday did publish a Government press release last Wednesday in which they claimed to assist in the rescue of the boys, however, when the lawyer involved, Clive Stafford Smith, responded to contradict that claim, Newsday posted his statement online immediately, prominently and in full, and republished it in the print edition of the paper on Thursday.

With elections in the air, Persad-Bissessar kept her promise to open nominations for candidates for both local and general elections saying nominations would first be invited for those constituencies and electoral districts that did not have a sitting UNC MP or councillor.

She also dispelled social media reports that the UNC had already chosen candidates saying “not a single candidate has been chosen for any election. Be it the general election or the local government election.”

With talk of unity and another coalition being formed to contest the next election, Persad-Bissessar said there was a difference between unity and a coalition.

“We will not engage in any coalition, we are strong enough to stand alone as the UNC.”

She then called on those UNC members who had left the party to return to the House of the Rising Sun.

She said the party had been growing significantly in the marginal constituencies saying, “I am putting the Prime Minister on notice – his party no longer has any safe seats in this country.”

Persad-Bissessar also touched on the Venezuelan crisis and criticised several front-line PNM ministers who had mouthed “What trump go do we?” when Rowley was making his statement about taking umbrage with the statement made by the US Ambassador.

She said, while Government members held diplomatic passports, over 200,000 citizens had US tourist visas in heir passports. She said 70 per cent of our food was imported from the US while TT exported $18.9 billion to the US annually.

Persad-Bissessar said TT was also the biggest beneficiary under the Caribbean Basin Initiative and received trade preferences amounting to $2.8 billion. She said TT’s waiver expired in 2021 and the US President and congress had to approve its renewal.

“Rowley, Camille, Faris and others still want to know what Trump go do,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar said a re-elected UNC would slash corporation tax to between 18-20 per cent and open the Couva Children Hospital as well as placing emphasis on job creation.