Frisco Junction, Point Fortin Meeting

10^th August 2009

Member of Parliament for Point Fortin; Minister of Foreign Affairs: Hon. Paula Gopee-Scoon

Mr. Party Chairman

Senator the Honourable Conrad Enill, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries

 Party General Secretary

 Senator the Honourable Martin Joseph, Minister of National Security

 Our Youth Speaker

 My Colleagues in Government

 PNM Party Officials

 Past Members of Parliament for the Constituency of Point Fortin

 Past Mayors of Point Fortin

 Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

 Members of the PNM Family

 The People of Point Fortin

Tonight, Comrades, we the people of Point Fortin welcome very warmly our dear Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and the Political Leader of the People’s National Movement to Point Fortin … and his wife, Senator the Honourable Hazel Manning, and I welcome each and every one of you to the COLLEGE OF FRISCO JUNCTION.  I am very happy to see members of our PNM far and wide (and I know that Tobago is tuned in) here in the Peninsula – to participate in this special gathering, the FIFTH, in the Curriculum of POLITICAL EDUCATION -              The PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON “VISION  2020 – MODERNISING SYSTEMS OF GOVERNANCE”.

I must, Ladies and Gentlemen, single out, among all my colleagues the Minister of Health, Senator the Honourable Jerry Narace – and you know why? – this time – to thank him because , and many of you would have realised, that the relocation to the temporary hospital, which would see us through the construction period, has begun.  The Government has a date for completion – sooner than you think – it is happening as we speak.

Tonight, we want to say – that WE ARE READY – ready for change – POINT FORTIN is ready for REFORM.

In this wave of modernization ... Point Fortin must not be left out …. so I ask you to put on your political swimsuits, bikinis, if you could wear it or whatever (no skinny dipping though) and let us ride – let us stay afloat on this surf of progress – and I say not each man to himself – but hanging on – together.  WE ARE READY for MODERNISATION.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM is particularly relevant to us in the South as it is proposed – that the communities of La Brea and Point Fortin become ONE BOROUGH – and the two shall become one.

Remember though, it is said that “wherever two or more are gathered in my name there am I with you” and we must therefore see in this only SUCCESS  and WE ARE READY.

The Southern Peninsula is on a wave of industrialization and we see in the distance  - not too far in the distance - CITY STATUS.                We say tonight that we are  ready, open and willing and welcome any multinational companies and foreign investment to the SOUTHRN INDUSTRIAL PENINSULA – (and we are accustomed  - from the days of UBOT, SHELL, BECCITEL to now ATLANTIC LNG and ALUTRINT)

But, Ladies and Gentlemen, we must be prepared to do our part through DISCIPLINE, PRODUCTION and TOLERANCE.

We say a special goodnight to the people of LA BREA and to my brother, the Member of Parliament for LA BREA, the Honourable Fitzgerald Jeffrey.

I am not saying anything about Constitutional Reform – that is for the Honourable Prime Minister tonight – but we ready for that.

And when later on in the education programme on the matter of Regional Integration – we not ready – we past that stage - (only in some respect though).

Point Fortin has been integrating with our fellow Caribbean people for decades.  Dare I ask how many people here tonight are of Vincentian and Grenadian roots?  Even I do ….. IS ONE LOVE.

And we will come to a later stage in our programme of education – international governance and FOREIGN POLICY …. and we used to foreign too.

The people of ICACOS, CEDROS and FULLERTON are beneficiaries of a fishing agreement signed in 1997 between the Governments of Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago – and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is about to re-negotiate once again.

But at this time, we want to say how important Point Fortin is and that important things come in small packages.

SOLDADO ROCK which is just off Point Fortin – the moko jumbies could see it.

In 1942 at the height of the second World War – World War II, the British, acting on behalf of Trinidad, (we were a colony then) signed a treaty (an agreement) called the Gulf of Paria Treaty that specified what waters belong to Trinidad and Tobago – and that includes the Gulf of Paria and also Columbus Channel.  What the British proposed and what Venezuela agreed to, was that the boundary line would be drawn around Soldado Rock (that area is ours – seabed, mineral wealth, etc.).

It is a fact that fields around Soldado Roack have produced and continue to produce to this day, hundreds of millions of barrels of oil.  The significance of this Rock is that small communities, like Point Fortin, CAN and DO make big contributions to this nation – as our Jamaican brethren would say – “we little but we tallawat”.

POINT FORTIN IS IMPORTANT TO THIS NATION.

I have to close now.

SO WE ARE READY FOR REFORM – YES?  But I say in the face of big changes – that there are two (2) things which must remain constant  -  two (2) things.

ONE, that it is this Government, only the PNM Government that is capable and that will take this country to developed nation status – the year 2020  - we’re on a wave.

And the other is  - and you could guess – it is one leader and one leader only that we could do so with  - and that is the PRIME MINISTER OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO,  the POLITICAL LEADER OF THE PNM, the Member of Parliament for San Fernando East, the Honourable Patrick Manning.

Great is our Leader

Great is the PNM

And it shall prevail.