Former United National Congress (UNC) minister John Humphrey says he is ready to re-enter the political arena, but rather than running for active office, he is prepared to assume the role of political adviser/activist.
Confirming this yesterday following the launch of his book titled John Humphrey: The Ideology of Partnership at Newtown, Port-of-Spain, yesterday the 89-year-old revealed this latest undertaking would see him joining hands with long-time friend and former prime minister Basdeo Panday.
He said, “I am too old to be active as a politician, but my brain is still working reasonably well, so I am committed to helping your generation. The young people of the country need to come together to form the next government and to change the system.”
Surrounded by his family, friends and former parliamentarians such as Trevor Sudama, Brian Kuei Tung, Wendell Mottley, Vasant Bharath and Mickela Panday, Humphrey said efforts to form a coalition in earlier years had not been truly successful but this time he is confident it will be different.
“Mr Panday had invited all the groups previously and that did not succeed, so we are going to do it again,” he said.
Humphrey, who will celebrate his 90th birthday next February, will be meeting with Panday soon.
Panday is expected to return from London next week.
Humphrey said, “He (Mr Panday) is going to call all the young people together again and this time, I think it will succeed.”
In moving this partnership forward, Humphrey said, “Mr Panday has always advocated a new Constitution. He is also advocating all the groups come together in a genuine coalition and that is exactly what we are going to do, but offering them the ideology of partnership and showing them, in fact, how it will resolve the differences that have to exist in leadership and so on.”
In his reflections during the book launch, Humphrey read from his writings, “Since 1952, I have honoured these constitutional provisions and when in office, tried to see them fulfilled.”
Recalling the commitment and dedication he channelled into helping write the manifesto of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) for the 1986 election which proposed that all viable state-owned enterprises, the private sector and workers become equal partners, Humphrey said, “Instead of fulfilling the promises, I was the first to be fired, followed by Based Panday and those who had written the manifesto.
“The promise had applied to the oil refinery and had it been fulfilled, we would not be in the difficulty we are in today.”
Humphrey told the packed room, “If it is not too late, we could do it today and if we are sensible, we would negotiate with Venezuela to form a partnership for exploiting their oil and gas in our mutual interest.”
