For the first time in history, some residents of Embacadere, once considered a strong People’s National Movement territory, have switched sides saying they have found new hope in the United National Congress.
When Guardian Media visited the area, a UNC flag hung from the apartment of resident Ann Isaac, at Block P, who said she decided not to support the PNM after, what she called, years of neglect.
Isaac said she could not vote because of an issue with her ID card, yet she had publicly thrown support to the UNC long before the party won.
“I faced threats and intimidation during the campaign because I decided not to vote for the PNM. Basic needs were not being met, that’s why,” she explained.
She noted: “We did not have garbage collection, rats everywhere, the playground grass was high and more importantly, people wasn’t getting jobs even though they well qualified,” Isaac added.
Jonathan Thompson, a youth in the area, also said the community had been neglected. He said the nearby preschool needed a face-lift.
“The children cannot come out to play. Snakes and centipedes coming out because the grass so high,” he said.
Another resident, Marilyn Thompson who has always been a supporter of the PNM, said the defeat was a wake-up call to the party to do better for its grassroots supporters.
“I expect the new UNC government will focus on the youth and put things in place for the next generation. Faris (Al-Rawi) was not around and that was why he lost. It was a hard situation and after election morning, the place was dead, usually when PNM wins we have a lot of noise and celebration the next morning,” she said.
Five weeks before the election, Professor of Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies at the University of the West Indies, Dr Hamid Ghany, told Guardian Media that changes in the electoral boundaries gave the UNC an advantage in the San Fernando West seat.
He explained that the shifting of polling divisions 4005 and 4006 in Vistabella from San Fernando East into San Fernando West showed a net gain for the UNC as opposed to the PNM.
MP-elect Dr Michael Dowlath, who won under the UNC, agreed that the boundary shifts were a factor.
“There were two polling divisions that came from San Fernando East that were slightly in our favour. We canvassed in every polling division, street by street. We sent street captains and we met them in their homes, streets and business places,” he said.
Dowlath claimed while the PNM ignored their grassroots, he listened to them and addressed basic needs.
“People wanted their garbage collected, their bulk waste. It was simple things. Based on their complaints, I did a manifesto which connected to their needs. We spoke to them about our plans,” Dowlath said.
Holding up a batch of certificates, Dowlath said even though he has not yet taken office, he has organised forklift training for a group of unemployed youths who had no qualifications.
This will now enable them to find work. He also said he would proceed to establish an innovation campus where youths can have AI training, create a world-class technology park through a Public-Private Partnership, as well as build a Carnival costume factory to expand San Fernando’s creative industries.
Guardian Media contacted Al-Rawi, but he deferred comment, saying he was tied up in meetings and would comment at a later time.
