Candidate Hinds marching on

LAVENTILLE West candidate for the PNM Fitzgerald Hinds ran towards the rain instead of away from it on Thursday afternoon as he continued his walkabouts in Laventille despite brief but heavy rainfall.

Hinds began the walkabout just after 3 pm along St Barb’s Road, St Barbs, where he and his supporters met and spoke with constituents over any concerns they had.

Speaking with Newsday before the walkabout, Hinds said while he noted weather alerts issued by the Met office over Tropical Storm Gonzalo’s approach to TT, he is prepared to continue campaign activities as much as possible.

He said the PNM would continue to stream videos of their meetings and activities live on the party’s social media platforms reducing the need for supporters to be physically present for these events.

“We are as natural as the environment and we adapt our lives to the course of the environment and therefore we will walk to the extent that it is safe and to the extent that it’s not overly burdensome, we will continue our activity as normal.

“This is a different kind of campaign. A lot of it is being done virtually so what we can’t do physically we are communicating to the people of Laventille West on a minute by minute basis. This (walkabout) will be carried live on social media as well so this is how we are communicating all the time so no moment is lost.”

Hinds who was accompanied by a relatively small group of supporters during the walkabout, noted that while he was serious with connecting with his constituents, he also wanted to obey public health regulations and mandated all supporters to wear masks and observe physical distancing if they intended to walk with him.

Earlier this week it was reported that the PNM would release their manifesto soon. The manifesto will include the party’s plans for economic recovery after the covid19 pandemic.

Hinds said like any other community in TT, Laventille would not be left behind and will be included in plans for strengthening the economy.

“The entire recovery plan is for TT and Laventille is a part of TT. Every single thing whether it is in terms of improving our technology or digitising the whole country it’s all for the benefit of the people of TT.”