SHARLENE RAMPERSAD
Former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday believes the way to creating a better society is through uniting the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaking yesterday on CNC3’s The Morning Brew with host Jason ‘JW’ Williams, ahead of this country’s 45th Republic Day on Friday, Panday said to be a true patriot, one must understand what patriotism means.
“A patriot is someone who loves their country and who will do things in order to enhance their society and their country and there are so many aspects of patriotism,” he said.
He told Williams that as a young man, he was on his way to India to study on a scholarship after studying in England, when he decided to come home to T&T to visit his family.
That decision, he said, decided the course of his life.
“While I was here, I got involved with Stephen Maharaj, CLR (Cyril Lionel Robert) James, George Weekes, Jack Kelshall and others who were fighting against the government’s introduction of the Industrial Stabilisation Act and it is involvement in that struggle that made me abandon my scholarship and just plunge into struggle…it just happened.”
Recalling his days of hosting Caribbean Premier League (CPL) matches at the Brian Lara Stadium, Williams said Panday’s arrival to those matches would always incite loud cheers from the fans.
Panday credits that to the time he spent in the midst of different struggles, both as a trade unionist and a politician.
“First of all, I think that kind of attention is because people feel I belong to them and they belong to me. I have always been in the trenches, I have never lived above people, but always with them. For example, when we had strikes in the sugar industry and people were hungry, we would cook food publicly in the parks and I would eat with them and stay with them and it is being in the trenches with people, I think, that results in this kind of attention.”
As a politician, Panday said when he became Prime Minister in 1995, he set about trying to make citizens happy by fixing their issues and giving them recognition. He was responsible for abolishing the Common Entrance examination, ensuring that every primary school pupil was able to attend a secondary school.
He also introduced the Spiritual Shouter Baptiste Liberation holiday and the Orisha Marriage Act.
Panday said in some cases, it was as easy as fixing bad roads.
“I introduced something called a pothole squad- that was a vehicle that had the necessary materials to fix potholes, with the little roller on it, and put it all on a truck and my instruction to them was you go and drive this vehicle all over the country and wherever you see a pothole, stop and fix it.
“And so we actually were getting rid of potholes in the country by simply making sure every little pothole was fixed before it expanded to a ravine or something,” he said.
He also spoke about his now-deceased political rival and friend, Patrick Manning, saying their relationship was defined by a ‘different’ kind of politics.
Photos of the two interacting and embracing frequently made the rounds on social media, as the shining example of how politicians should treat each other.
“Mr Manning and I, he as Prime Minister and me as leader of the Opposition, we would have terrible battles in the Parliament but we were able to separate our personal feelings from our political convictions.
“We were both from Presentation (College) and while we had very, very serious struggles in the Parliament, outside of the Parliament, we were human beings. I never considered Mr Manning as my enemy. He was my political opponent but he was not my enemy.”
Looking to the future, Panday advised citizens, “I think we all should have a vision of the society, what is the kind of society that we wish to see, what is the society we can see when we close our eyes and say this is the society we need and then to find a formula to unite your people to achieve that dream.”