Sunday, October 25 2009

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PNM supporters in Tobago on Friday night. ...

Claiming that the proposal for an Executive President as contained in the Draft Working document was “misunderstood” by those opposed to this recommendation, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said he was not interested in the position.

“It holds no attractions to me!” the PNM political leader declared, during a public meeting at the Scarborough Esplanade, in Tobago, on Friday night. “My concern is not that, my concern is not personal aggrandisement; I have said before that politics must not be the pursuit of fame and power and fortune... We do not make those proposals to serve ourselves; we make those proposals because we believe that at the end of the day it will lead to a better structure of governance all for the honour and glory of Almighty God and for the benefit of the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” he asserted.

Manning noted, “Those opposed to us are saying that Manning wants to institute an Executive President arrangement because he wants to be Executive President.” He, however, noted that he had served the country for 38 years as a “servant of the people”, and had also served as a leader of the country for a long time, thus the lofty position of executive president holds no special attraction to him.