Former prime minister Basdeo Panday is confused by the apology given to him by Jack Warner. On Saturday, Warner apologised to Panday for criticising him when he said that Kamla Persad-Bissessar was not ready to lead. Warner made the apology when he met Panday at the wedding of United National Congress (UNC) strategy officer Ken Emrith and Davica Persad.
Yesterday, Panday told the T&T Guardian although he accepted Warner’s apology, he was confused by it. “I’m not sure what it was intended to do because I think everybody had agreed with me that the UNC or the coalition was led by someone who was totally lacking in leadership,” he said. “I just read the paper and what he said is that he wants to apologise for not believing me when I said Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar was not ready to lead.
“Well okay, so he has apologised. What difference does that make to the politics? What difference does that make to the people? How are the people of Chaguanas West going to be better off with that apology? Well, he has made an apology and so be it, but of what consequence is it?” Panday said only Warner knew the sincerity of the apology. However, it was not needed as he too had made mistakes in the past.
“I don’t need apologies and so on. I have made many mistakes myself in my life. I don’t need apologies, but I accept them with grace.” Panday said there was no cabal in the UNC when he served as prime minister. However, he does not doubt that one exists now. He said during the UNC’s term in government between 1995 and 2000, all decisions were made by consensus.
However, the three Cabinet members named by Warner and former justice minister Herbert Volney as part of the cabal—Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, Housing Minister Roodal Moonilal and Local Government Minister Dr Surujrattan Rambachan—were not ministers in Panday’s administration.
“When I was Prime Minister, I don’t know that there was any cabal and as far as I was aware, there was no cabal... We had a party and we had a Cabinet that discussed things quite openly,” Panday said. “People would say what they had to say and in the end we would come to a consensus and that would be the decision that would form part of the policy of the government. “I have no doubt that there can be one. Mr Warner is probably right and as a matter of fact I think the other side had accused Mr Warner of having his own cabal.”
Panday said he always distinguished the current UNC from the one he founded as the new leaders of the party only used the name to attract crowds. “I have always said the UNC—the one we built for 22 years, we built a party that stood for things and believed in certain things—that party is dead for all intents and purposes. That party did not have a cabal. The one that has assumed its place with its name probably has a cabal.
“It is damaging what is called the UNC now...I always make a distinction between the party that was and the party that is now, though they carry the same name,” he said. “I read Mr Warner saying that the party does not hold meetings, it hasn’t held congresses, it doesn’t hold its national assembly and so on. The party’s entire structure has crumbled and it’s being used as a name to attract people.”