By Prior Beharry
JACK WARNER says he has not cut a deal with the United National Congress (UNC) to return to politics.
The former FIFA vice president who is on fraud charges and fighting extradition to the United States was speaking at a UNC meeting in Arima on Thursday.
He said his matters were before the courts and the UNC had no control over the courts.
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Warner said he has entered the campaign for the Local Government Elections and it was Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley who was in charge of the central government.
Last week, Dr Rowley said that the resurrection of Warner in politics was because he cut a deal with the UNC to fight his extradition proceedings.
Dr Rowley said, “All that you are seeing there, in the shocking reversals of positions between Mr Warner, the UNC, the leader of the UNC and so on, that boils down to one simple thing, Jack Warner has some serious extradition difficulties. He wants to be with people to make a deal that he will not be extradited.”
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But Warner said, “I didn’t know that the UNC has power over the courts. I know they have the best lawyers in the country.
“But is only a warped mind like Dr Rowley will think about these things.
“I have been in FIFA for 30 years and for 30 years FIFA has never said anything about me for impropriety.”
He promised to deal with the matter in a press release to outline the history of his case and to say why the Chief Magistrate on June 12 stopped the case “and put Jack Warner on hold, if she said so who can I cut a deal with the UNC to help me out.”
Warner said the chief magistrate had criticised lawyers representing both the Governments of Trinidad and Tobago and the US.
He claimed the T&T government had paid 17 senior lawyers to get him out of the country but was still here.
Warner said he returned to the UNC because of what was happening in the country and its political system.
He said, “If one was to look at the country and what was happening in the country, you would understand that you had no choice but to join the UNC.
“This is a country that has a two-party system. There are some small parties, I would admit that with some bright ideas, but they cannot change the scheme of things.
“You either go with one or the other. Two parties in the US, two parties in Barbados, two parties in Jamaica and in Trinidad two parties and I chose one – the UNC.
“Mrs Bissessar had made several appeals for national unity and I responded positively. Don’t blame me for that. The fact is I saw a vision of where I want this country to go.”
He said the PNM has been speaking about local government reform since 1956 and also mentioned it in 1971, 1976, 1981 and in 2007 when then local government minister Hazel Manning went all over the country speaking about it but nothing has been done.
Warner said it was Persad-Bissessar, who as prime minister, gave the country local government reform.
He said, “She was the first and only prime minister to give local councillors, office and staff.
“She gave them access to tax-free vehicles so they may be able to serve their burgesses.”
Warner said she would have done that at the central government level and that Dr Rowley has not done that in the last eight years, he has been in office.
