Rambharat eyes leadership role in PNM

Don't rule out Clarence Rambharat vying to be the political leader of the PNM.

Rambharat's resignation as a senator and minister of agriculture last week during a Cabinet reshuffle does not seem to be the end of his political career.

"I still leave the possibility open of returning to the TT Parliament one day," he said during a wide-ranging interview on Thursday at the scenic Botanic Gardens in Port of Spain.

He said while his decision to quit was based solely on his inability to balance work and family life, it does not mean he is walking away from politics. His wife and three children live in Canada.

"Well, I am not exiting politics, I have left the Cabinet and I am not leaving politics. I am a member of the PNM. I don't have an office in the PNM.

"I don't know, when the internal election comes, if anybody will ask me to be on their slate, you would see I have never given that thought."

But, pressed on whether that could mean he could throw his hat in the ring to be the party leader, he said, "I have never crafted a campaign to be there, but I think once I am alive, I would think it is something I can do. I have not given thought to it, to run in the next leadership campaign, but I will always believe when you in something, you should see yourself rise all the way to the top, unless you think something is wrong with you."

As with his decision to contest electoral politics, Rambharat said he is more than willing to take risks in life.

"Your star might be shining today and it no longer there tomorrow, and you have make the leap...you really have to follow your passion, read the timing, like in cricket, watch the way the wicket is turning and make your decision."

The PNM's internal election is carded for September, and its political leader has already signalled his intention of contesting so that he can serve out his term as prime minister until 2025.

Rambharat, the only losing candidate to be given a Cabinet portfolio by Dr Rowley in two successive general election campaigns, says he remains committed to the party and is keen to play a role in developing future leaders, young people in the party, and those seeking to be full-time councillors when the local government reform is implemented.

Rambharat became a member of the PNM in 1995, and began charting his childhood dream of one day serving in Parliament. His baptism in electoral politics came in 2013, when Rowley approached him to be the candidate for Mayaro, his hometown, but after a gruelling 14-month campaign he lost to the UNC's Rushton Paray in 2015.

"My run in 2015 was for Parliament, not for Cabinet."

But he already knew three weeks before the election that the Prime Minister wanted him to be the agriculture minister, after it was announced on a political platform. After the election, he said, the PM told him he had to "finish the journey."

In 2020, Rambharat was selected to go into the heartland of the UNC to wrest control of the Chaguanas East seat, but that too proved an insurmountable challenge against Vandana Mohit.

Rambharat said when he joined the Senate in 2015 he was taken under the wing of former Mayaro MP Franklin Khan and became an understudy until he eventually took charge as leader of the government business in the Senate on a shift basis and eventually full-time after Khan's death. He was appointed to serve on several joint select committees and later on as the chair of Cabinet's Legislative Reform Committee.

He described Cabinet members as "siblings" who would have differences of opinion, disagreements and squabbles as personalities clashed, but united for a common cause.

On his performance as a minister, Rambharat said he was proud of his work in trying to reduce the backlog of outstanding leases for farmers, but noted there was still a lot more to be done.

As part of his legacy, he referred to work done to clear irrigation channels, replace 35-year-old pumps and other infrastructural work for farmers in Plum Mitan, which he described as the "true breadbasket of the country." He also embarked "on an ambitious" agricultural access road repair programme, where $80 million was taken from the $500 million stimulus package to fix roads that had been neglected for many years.

He said part of the decline in agriculture had to do with the decline of motivation because of the inordinate wait – often 30 years – for expired leases to be renewed.

"I have seen once that approval is given, I've seen it trigger a lot of interest in the farms."

The issue of expired leases also affects thousands of home-owners occupying state lands spanning from St James, St Clair, along the East-West Corridor, Arouca and Tacarigua.

In the latest reshuffle, former deputy senate president Nigel De Freitas has been given responsibility for lands under the ministry, which will be led by Kazim Hosein and junior minister Avinash Singh.

There are about 100,000 expired leases and each one had to be examined and digitised before being taken to Cabinet for approval. Rambharat estimates it will take another seven-ten years to complete the process with the same dedication he had given.