Caption: Mayaro MP Rushton Paray with attorneys Larry Lalla, SC, and Kiel Taklalsingh. AZP News/Azlan Mohammed
By Sue-Ann Wayow
A VOTE for the United Patriots (UP) slate in the upcoming internal election of the United National Congress (UNC) is a vote for country, a better government and a better future.
This was the point being driven by UP’s leader Member of Parliament for Mayaro Rushton Paray as he urged the UNC membership to be ready to embrace change for a new era.
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He was speaking at a grand and final large campaign meeting on Wednesday in his constituency at the Rio Claro East Secondary School.
Addressing a packed-out crowd, Paray said “I want the UNC to win because I want the people of Trinidad and Tobago to win.”
The current party’s executive lacked the vision and vigour to challenge the People’s National Movement (PNM) government, he said.
Paray said, “Our party needs a rescue act. We cannot and must not rely on past victories on leaders who are symbols of a bygone era. We need leadership that can mobolise support across urban and rural communities all alike. We need to revive the spirt of Mr (Basdeo) Panday who united varied members and supporters in a common purpose.”
Paray said the UP slate stands behind the UNC members, good governance, young people, every woman, the poorest behind the poor, the dwindling middle class and the struggling small and micro enterprise.
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“That is what we stand for and that is what we will stand behind, not anybody’s skirt tail,” he said referring to statements made by his opponent leading the STAR team UNC’s political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
He urged supporters, “This current executive is in a decline and it is aimless and useless and they must be tossed aside on Saturday the 15th June, 2024.”
“That team cannot…they don’t have the capacity, they don’t have the skill, they don’t have the knowledge, they don’t have the will, they don’t have the desire to take the UNC to national electoral victory and we must reject that,” Paray emphasised.
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Speaking on issues of crime and economic challenges, Paray said Trinidad and Tobago did not deteriorate overnight.
He said, “The current state of our beloved Trinidad and Tobago is not merely a result of poor governance but a testament to the collective neglect and complacency that has been allowed to fester over the years.
“We have allowed ourselves to become passive spectators in a game where our futures and the futures of our children are being gambled away.
“We must awaken the spirit of activism, civic engagement that has historically been the backbone of our society. It is time to remind ourselves that we, the people hold the ultimate power in a democracy.”
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On Wednesday, the line-up of speakers consisted of UP slate candidates, Anita Haynes, Larry Lalla, Kiel Taklalsingh, Henry Awong and Shanta Seepersad.
