‘Small man is our financier’

Working under the slogan – Put some change to bring about real change – the MSJ launched it campaign for financing for the December 2 local government election on the streets of Marabella yesterday.The premise, according to leader David Abdulah, is to enable the ordinary man to have a say in the direction of the party by contributing to its campaign for the local and general elections.

“The MSJ is the only political party where our financiers will be the ordinary men and women of TT making small contributions which for them would be very significant...but small compared to the big financiers. But that way, we are party not only of the people but funded by the people, and is for the people.”

The contribution system is based on the concept of raffle books with each book having 10 pages valued at $10 each. When a person makes a contribution, he or she is given a receipt while the stub has the person's name and donation amount.

“So the MSJ is demonstrating even in the absence of party financing legislation and regulations, the MSJ is demonstrating total accountability and transparency in how our our party is going to be financed for this election and this is going to continue up to general elections.”

Asked whether the two other major parties – PNM and UNC – have an advantage, he said, “the other parties have an advantage in terms of getting money, big money, but because they are getting big money, the ordinary people are at a disadvantage because the ordinary people's interest are not being seen about, not being protected by PNM and UNC who seek the interests of their big financiers.

He said MSJ had chosen Marabella as the launch area as it is traditionally viewed as an oil town but has suffered economically with the closure of the Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery.

“The PNM close down the refinery, send home thousands of workers and damaged economic activity here in Marabella, San Fernando, Gasparillo and all the way down to Point Fortin and Icacos," he said.

Asked about the UNC statement that former senators Gerald Ramdeen and Wayne Sturge acted on their own when they filed an injunction seeking a halt to the sale of the refinery, he said, “nothing the UNC says these days can be taken as credible or honest."

“Sturge and Ramdeen are not just ordinary persons, they were UNC senators and for them to act in tandem like that has to be the UNC organised.”The injunction application was withdrawn on Thursday after Government's lawyers told the High Court that the joint select committee on energy would meet after the budget debate which ended in the Senate on Friday.

“(Dr Roodal) Moonilal was dishonest in his statement in Parliament, what he should do is come outside and we will sue him and perhaps get some money to finance our campaign,” Abdulah said. He was referring to Moonilal's claims that the Prime Minister's friend Vidya Deokiesingh and a Suriname based investor colluded with the OWTU and Abdulah to influence Government to select the OWTU's Patriotic Energies and Technologies Co Ltd as the preferred bidder for the refinery.

Abdulah then started the party's finance initiative by donating $100 to the campaign.