Political Leader of the Congress of the People Winston Dookeran addressing Sunday’s NJAC forum.

T&T is in a state of emergency and the PNM Government is presiding over the forces of underdevelopment, political leader of the Congress of the People Winston Dookeran has said. Dookeran spoke at an NJAC forum to which he had been invited. Dookeran said he first met NJAC’s Makandal Daaga at a 1969 meeting. He spoke about T&T’s current status and how to proceed in order to take T&T “out of this state of emergency.” He said the issue of race in politics today remained “the most important cancer that we must get rid of if we want to build a new T&T.” He added: “The issue of returning governance to the people of this land and having our institutions account to our people and our nation is our primary responsibility to protect our democracy and our freedom in our land.”

“For almost 20 years those who have been in charge of the leadership of this country have either formed themselves into cabals or cartels in order to run against the people.” However, Dookeran said the forces of underdevelopment were stronger than the forces of development. He added, “If you were to preside over the forces of underdevelopment like the present Government is doing, we the people must make the verdict clear that we have elected you, not to preside over the forces of underdevelopment but to preside over the forces of development.” He said there was the belief that high growth rate and high buildings were a substitute for real development in T&T. “Development can take place without high growth rates if it is based on fundamental precepts of governance on one hand and on the requirement of our people to hold our governments accountable. Where we all fail as a people, is because today, we refuse to hold our governments accountable for what they have done.

It is clear much work has to be done.” Dookeran added. He said development could not be imported. He said: “It is not simply a matter of high buildings, grandiose schemes, satisfying the whims and fancies of someone who does not understand the difference between development and geology.” “We need therefore to go deeper into our development challenge but we now face a more difficult situation for the very resilience of small economies like ours are being put to the test.” “Even there our governments have said, don’t worry because the recovery is coming and we will be back to normal...when we were going down, they said don’t worry we are not going down, and when we went down, they said don’t worry we will come back up. It is the act of a geologist talking about oil, not a leader talking about developing the nation,” Dookeran said.

Unity talks:
COP Leader Winston Dookeran is yet to decide on whether he will honour the UNC’s invitation to speak at their congress next week. Dookeran spoke on estranged UNC MP Jack Warner’s Chaguanas West platform on Sunday and appeared at an NJAC forum also on Sunday. UNC vice chairman Vasant Bharath wrote Dookeran last Friday afternoon inviting him to speak at the UNC congress at Rienzi Complex to further the unity thrust. On Friday afternoon, Dookeran said his secretary had received the letter but he had not read it yet.