Last Monday, the Mayor of Port-of-Spain, wearing his dual mayoral and PNM caps, called a media conference to respond to complaints made against his Deputy Mayor by an organiser of a demonstration in the city the previous Friday.Mr Lee Sing publicly castigated his party leaders for failing to defend his deputy against those complaints.What were those complaints against the Deputy Mayor?
At the closing rally at the end of the demonstration, Mr Ancel Roget complained that the Deputy Mayor of Port-of-Spain or the City Corporation had failed to provide a podium from which the leaders of the demonstration could comfortably address the crowd. Apparently, a stage was built and a tent erected for the rally by the Port-of-Spain Corporation.That demonstration was really a political demonstration called by the MSJ, hiding behind the name of the Joint Trade Union Movement and with the support of the PNM.
In fact, the majority of people in the demonstration were dressed in red and they hailed as PNM members and supporters. The political leaders of both round table parties addressed the rally.So what was the real issue?Anyone who has applied to use the facilities controlled by the Port-of-Spain City Corporation for various public activities, and worse for demonstrations or meetings, knows that the Corporation does not normally supply stage, tent or podium to the applicants.
Why were these to be supplied in the case of this demonstration?Was the PNM-controlled local government body to provide these bits of support for this demonstration only because it was organised by the PNM itself and its political allies?What the Mayor of Port-of-Spain was trying to defend was the PNM's use of public office and public facilities to support its party political activities in alliance with other political parties, in disguise.
Those who were claiming that they had organised the demonstration to protest bad governance by the government were now claiming that it is good governance to abuse public facilities once it is to the benefit of their political parties and ambitions.What hypocrisy!And a quarrel breaks out within the PNM over the issue that some elements of that party did not defend a holder of public office when he failed to carry out the abuse to the extent required, or efficiently enough.
This is the same PNM and its round table allies who boast and shout slogans about being "in defence of democracy."
ClydeWeatherhead
Trincity