Former PNM leader Patrick Manning has written to Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley asking why he is being hauled before the party’s national executive for disciplinary action. In a letter to Rowley bearing yesterday’s date, Manning said he received two letters from the party’s general secretary on November 25 and 26.
The first said he was being summoned to meet Rowley and the second, a day later, said the party’s national executive would be at the meeting. Manning noted that Rowley had met with him on November 7 in the parliamentary chambers, during which Rowley had expressed “concern that the Government might set a date for the general election before the end of this year.”
Manning said Rowley “indicated that the time had come to ask me what I proposed to do with respect to the constituency of San Fernando East so that nominations could be initiated.” He had told Rowley he was “still assessing the situation and would report to you in the following two weeks to which you totally agreed.”
Manning said he then contacted party headquarters, Balisier House, last Monday to ask for a meeting with Rowley to give that report but general secretary Ashton Ford told him Rowley was out of the country.
Manning said he was unable to apprise the constituency of any further developments without consultation with Rowley. “The configuration of the proposed meeting with the party’s executive,” he wrote, “suggests that there is some serious misunderstanding that I have committed some infraction and am being hauled before the party’s executive for disciplinary reasons. Neither of your two letters has stated what the charges are, nor the proposed agenda as is proscribed.”
Manning said a similar situation arose in 1976 which required the formal intervention of the party leader at that time, Dr Eric Williams. Manning said in his letter: “My character was attacked and I am resolved to prevent any such recurrence. “Accordingly, since there is a measure of confusion in the constituency of San Fernando East, caused by the varying instructions in your several letters.”
For clarification he proposed to release the correspondence so those interested could be fully briefed. He also renewed his call for the resumption of discussions with Rowley as originally agreed.
Manning, who suffered a stroke in January 2012, has said previously he would not contest the 2015 election.
However, last week at a constituency meeting former minister Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said Manning was willing to contest the election once he was wanted by San Fernando East constituency and his health was satisfactory.
Ford: Manning has it wrong
Contacted for comment yesterday, Ford said Rowley was still out of the country and was expected home this weekend. He said the inclusion of the party’s executive in the proposed meeting with Manning did not in any way constitute disciplinary action and Manning was fully aware of the process for disciplining PNM members.
That, he said, required a complaint to be filed by the General Council after which the matter would be investigated and if warranted sent to the Disciplinary Committee. He said no issue of disciplinary action had arisen with respect to Manning who was seen as an elder statesman in the PNM.