Justified. That’s the position which the Government maintains when it comes to the decision to award former prime ministers Patrick Manning and Basdeo Panday the Order of the Republic of T&T (ORTT). Trade, Investment and Communication Minister Vasant Bharath said so in a statement yesterday in response to remarks made by political analyst Dr Windford James that the award of the ORTT is nothing short of “political opportunism.”
In his statement yesterday, Bharath said: “We remain of the view that the national service rendered by former prime ministers Patrick Manning and Basdeo Panday merit the nation’s highest national award.” Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced at the pre-Independence cocktail reception at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, Port-of-Spain that Manning and Panday were to be given the ORTT.
Since the announcement, Manning, through his Facebook declined the offer, saying: “I assure all citizens I hold our institutions, ceremonies and awards in the highest esteem, and, I pray for the day when Persad-Bissessar and her People’s Partnership Government demit office and we can once again “take our pride in our liberty.”
Debate has continued to spiral in the public domain on the matter. But, substantiating his statement, Bharath said other prime ministers were given awards and it is not unusual for these two former prime ministers to receive awards too.
“In 2012, the nation’s highest award was conferred upon the late prime minister George Chambers for the 50th anniversary of our independence. In 2002, the Trinity Cross was conferred upon the late Dr Eric Williams for the 40th anniversary of our independence. No other Government has ever managed to rise above partisan politics to recognise political leaders and prime ministers regardless of their party affiliation.”
Manning declined the offer of the award, saying: “Due process for these awards involved informing the potential recipients through the Office of the Prime Minister in a confidential manner. Only recipients who have agreed to accept an award are then announced publicly, and, with dignity. Had I been consulted beforehand I would have been able to privately decline.”
Commenting, Bharath said it was “regrettable” that the announcement was being misrepresented as “some procedural irregularity.” He added the decision to decline, whether in public or in private, always remained with the individual and it was not unusual for the prime minister to act transparently on the basis of prior practice to announce these awards publicly before their conferral. Further, Bharath said the procedure which Manning used to recommend Prof Brian Copeland was one which was similar to Persad-Bissessar’s.
“The prime minister also took into account the procedure adopted by then prime minister Manning to announce his intention to recommend Professor Brian Copeland for the award of the Order of the Republic of T&T at the National Awards ceremony on 31st August, 2007, one year before the award came into existence.”
“This was followed by a public announcement of the award for Professor Copeland at the Cocoyea South Residents Association function on 5th July, 2008, some seven weeks before the award was officially granted on 31st August, 2008.” The precedent concerning the procedure for announcing recommendations for the ORTT, has been set, said Bharath.