by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
CCSJ members express our sincerest and heartfelt condolences to Mrs Hazel Manning and the Manning family on the passing of Mr Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (August 17, 1946–July 2, 2016). We owe a debt of gratitude to this patriot who lived a life of selfless service.
Mr Manning served as T&T’s Prime Minister for 12 years – spanning 4 terms (1991–1995 and 2001–2010). He was the longest ever serving Member of Parliament in T&T, giving 44 years of dedicated service to the people of San Fernando East (1971–2015). He retired from politics in February 2015.
His own words sum up the democratic values that underpinned the life of this great statesman. In May 2011, in an interview with the Trinidad Guardian, he said: “I could not have chosen a better career. Options were available, but I took the deliberate step of entering politics for the betterment of our nation. I have never seen politics as an avenue towards personal fame and fortune. It has always meant the upliftment of the people of T&T.”
Whatever faults he may have had, there is little doubt that history will remember him as a leader who used his God-given talents to the best of his ability to advance the common good, not only for T&T but regionally and globally. He was a true Caribbean man.
Indeed, it was his Caribbean/global vision that led T&T to host two major international conferences in 2009 – the fifth Summit of the Americas, and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. His message to the nation on November 19, 2009 is testimony to his visionary leadership and his desire to promote our region’s interest on the global stage.
At a time when, over the past few years, the Global Competitiveness Index ranks poor work ethic in the labour force as first among the most problematic factors for doing business in this country, we can point to Mr Manning as someone who epitomised the kind of work ethic that should inspire public servants, and indeed, all of us who strive to build our great nation.
President Anthony TA Carmona signs the condolence book in honour of former Prime Minister Patrick Manning at the National Academy for the Performing Arts last Sunday. Photo courtesy the Office of the Prime Minister, Public Information and Communications Unit.
His belief in Vision 20/20 was sincere. He was committed to taking this country to developed nation status by 2020. As political commentator, Walter Lippman said: “The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men/women the conviction and the will to carry on.”
The greatest tribute that we can pay to him, therefore, is to reorientate our attitudes with regard to our work ethic and our levels of productivity, and to put our shoulders to the wheel to take our nation forward.
On a personal note, I first met Mr Manning in 2003. Shortly after it was announced that former Archbishop Edward Gilbert had appointed me to this position, Mr Manning asked him to arrange a meeting so that he could meet me.
I remember the day His Grace and I sat waiting for him to enter his room at White Hall. I need not have been nervous. He made us feel very welcome and he seemed truly interested in finding out about my work in the UK where I had lived and worked for many years before returning to T&T.
I informed him that my mother had always told us that we were related. She had said that her father, Robert Henry Fitzgerald Manning, and Mr Manning’s father were two of four brothers who came to T&T from Barbados and had settled here. He said he knew that he had relatives from Barbados.
In 2005, Archbishop Gilbert appeared on television with Mr Manning to apologise for a media release that CCSJ had issued.
During the appearance, His Grace had indicated that I had tendered my resignation – although he did not want me to leave. Mr Manning said that I should not resign. He called me personally to ask me to stay on in my post as he felt that the country could benefit from my contribution.
Although we never confirmed the veracity of our ‘cousin-ship’ he always called me ‘cousin Leela’ whenever we met afterwards.
Thank you, Mr Manning, for laying a path on which we can advance our nation, for your lasting legacy, and for the indelible imprint you have left in our lives. May you rest in peace.
