United National Congress (UNC) chairman Jack Warner says he received information that Prime Minister Patrick Manning plans to prorogue Parliament this week and call a general election in Trinidad and Tobago. Warner said it was brought to his attention that Manning intended to prorogue Parliament at the next sitting of the House of Representatives, on Friday. He speculated that a general election would be held in Trinidad and Tobago on either May 17 or May 24. "(I am being told) that it (Parliament) will be prorogued on the ninth (of April) and that he (Manning) would move to Woodford Square and begin his campaign," Warner said in a telephone interview. "That is what the ground is saying. Yes!" At the People's National Movement (PNM) special convention over the weekend, Manning had announced that the PNM would begin screening candidates on April 7 for a general election. Screening starts on Wednesday in his San Fernando East constituency.
Manning also said the PNM had made an application to acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert to march in Port-of-Spain on Friday, the day the Opposition has proposed to file the no-confidence motion in him in the Parliament. Warner said it was indicated to him that Manning wanted to pre-empt the motion of no-confidence that Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar would bring forward against him in the Parliament. "That is what the ground is saying, and if he is sensible, he will call it (a general election), because when we unleash what we have to unleash in Parliament...," Warner said. "At the end of the day, Mr Manning is carrying this country downhill very fast, and if we do not stop him we will be very sorry afterwards." Calls to Rowley went unanswered yesterday, but in an interview last month Rowley had said the government's behaviour was inviting a motion of no-confidence to be brought against the Prime Minister in the Parliament.
Rowley has suffered repeated criticisms from the Prime Minister since he raised concerns about the operations at state-enterprise, the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd. He added that the anger experienced from Trinidad and Tobago's population would not be duped from Manning's recent attempts to become more people-oriented. "I want to say to Mr Manning, whether he wants to build ten hospitals in ten weeks, or whether he wants to temper the Revenue Authority Bill that he has passed or the property tax legislation that he has also passed, which were very good (to him), which were up to this week were the best thing since sliced bread, it would not fool the people." Warner said a general election would be "the best thing for the country" to vote out Manning. "This country is an angry country. People are angry....This country cannot take it anymore." The Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, Colm Imbert declined comments yesterday on Warner's statements. Calls to PNM chairman Conrad Enill went unanswered.