OT­TO CAR­RING­TON

Se­nior Re­porter

ot­to.car­ring­ton@cnc3.co.tt

Some res­i­dents of Laven­tille West say they wel­come new rep­re­sen­ta­tion for the con­stituen­cy. How­ev­er, there were mixed views when it came to the per­for­mance of their cur­rent MP.

As news spread yes­ter­day that in­cum­bent Laven­tille West MP Fitzger­ald Hinds will no longer be throw­ing his hat in the ring to con­test the seat for the Peo­ple’s Na­tion­al Move­ment, Guardian Me­dia re­turned to the area to find out from res­i­dents how they felt.

Con­stituent Leary Wal­ters said he wel­comed change. “I am one of the cit­i­zens who em­brace change, and if we have to go for­ward, we have to ac­com­mo­date changes, so once it is for change, I am for that 100 per cent.”

He added, “Where Min­is­ter Hinds is con­cerned, now I have noth­ing per­son­al against him, but I am for de­vel­op­ment of Trinidad and To­ba­go, I am a pa­tri­ot, and when I speak, I speak in that ca­pac­i­ty. Al­low the youth to take over and plot their course for­ward.” He said Hinds had done his best.

“What I want to say to Mr Hinds is, con­trary to op­po­si­tion and talk, we thank you very much for the ser­vices you have pro­vid­ed for us thus far. But it’s time for us to press on,” Wal­ters added.

How­ev­er, an­oth­er con­stituent said he was hap­py to see Hinds go. One man who spoke to us on Old St Joseph Road was pleased with the an­nounce­ment and what it would mean for Laven­tille West.

“I feel so good that is why I am drink­ing to­day. I am hap­py. You know how long Hinds had to go!”

One shop­keep­er, who asked not to be named, said she was re­lieved. “I feel a sigh of re­lief ... it is time we get some­body new a fresh face,” she said. In Beetham Gar­dens, Ola Os­hun said she had a lot of love for Hinds but be­lieved he could have done more for res­i­dents.

“He told many of us plain that he can­not help us; even things as writ­ing a let­ter were not done for us. When he was in Mor­vant, he was very nice, he helped me get a job but what is hap­pen­ing to our youths now? They are com­ing in with qual­i­fi­ca­tions, and they can­not get noth­ing to do and we need help for our chil­dren,” the woman said.

Hinds has been Laven­tille West MP since Sep­tem­ber 2015 and was al­so re-elect­ed in 2020. He was first elect­ed as Laven­tille East/Mor­vant MP in 1995, serv­ing in that ca­pac­i­ty for 12 years.

As the PNM em­barked on screen­ing and se­lect­ing can­di­dates for the 2025 gen­er­al elec­tion, Hinds was chal­lenged for the seat by at­tor­ney and Port-of-Spain al­der­man Ka­reem Mar­celle and Dr Kadelle Jes­samy. How­ev­er, af­ter the Laven­tille West Women’s League vot­ed in a ma­jor­i­ty for Mar­celle, the con­stituen­cy ex­ec­u­tive threw their sup­port be­hind Hinds. He al­so re­ceived the back­ing of 37 par­ty groups in the area.

On Thurs­day, when Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley an­nounced Hinds would not be seek­ing re-elec­tion for the Laven­tille West seat at a post-Cab­i­net me­dia brief­ing, he said he was “a lit­tle dis­ap­point­ed be­cause Mr Hinds has been with us for a long time. He’s been a very loy­al, hard-work­ing MP and there­fore he’s com­ing to the end of his ser­vice. There’s usu­al­ly sad­ness in part­ing. But I’m sure he’ll be around with us in the par­ty if not in the Gov­ern­ment.”