Trinidad y Tobago: renuncia la vicepresidenta del Senado

The Vice President of the Trinidad Senate, Lyndira Oudit, Tuesday confirmed she had resigned her post as well as quitting the United National Congress (UNC), the biggest partner in the four-party coalition People’s Partnership government of Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar.

Oudit, speaking on a local radio programme here, said her resignation stemmed from a number of disappointments and held out the possibility of joining the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) whose interim leader, Austin “Jack” Warner was victorious in a by-election earlier this month.

She said she was disappointed

Her resignation is the second high profile one from the UNC, led by Prime Minister Persad Bissessar, and follows former justice minister Herbert Volney, who announced his resignation last Monday.

The resignation comes amidst media reports that Prime Minister will announce a Cabinet re-shuffle on Thursday and that National Security Minister Emmanuel George and Communication Minister Jamal Mohammed will lose their Cabinet portfolios.

It will be the third re-alignment of the Persad-Bissessar administration in its three years of government and comes on the heels of the crushing defeat for the coalition in the July 29 by-election for the Chaguanas West constituency, considered a heartland of the UNC.

Oudit said in 2010 when the coalition People’s Partnership came to power she had taken a position “that I wanted to be a part of something that was for change and for the betterment of the country”.

But she said over the last three years “whatever vision and hope and expectation I shared, somewhere along the line there has been a diversion in which the philosophy is unfolding and at this time, I choose to take a different direction”.

She said she had been thinking about the matter ‘for some time” and told radio listeners “there were things I believe ought not to have taken place…and I feel that while you say you are listening to the people, I believe sometimes you have to understand what you are hearing.

“I think somewhere along the line we mix up the messages,” she said, noting that while she has not hidden her support for Warner, “my options are wide open.

“Trinidad and Tobago is going through a political dynamite right now and there are options within and as soon as I know for sure…you will be the first to know,” she told listeners.

Asked whether or not she was disappointed in how Prime Minister Persad Bissessar dealt with allegations of corruption within her administration, Oudit said “Yes I am a little bit disappointed.

“I feel there are a number of cases that were brought to her attention and much more introspection and reflection and examination through the proper channel should have been done.

“I believe there is a sluggishness in the way in which matters of that nature are dealt with, and that is the bane of most leaders if you don’t act in a certain way and at the same time you don’t want every Monday morning to start an investigation into your ministers, at some point in time you have a country to lead.

“But she has a responsibility to pursue those that have merit,” she added.

Oudit said the results of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections in January should have served as a wakeup call for the government. The main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) won all 12 seats in the election.

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