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00:22The PNM is screening candidates for the three Diego Martin constituencies at Balise House.
00:28Political editor Jewel Brown and cameraman Emmanuel Nunez are there to bring you the latest developments from this selection process.
00:38Good evening, it's an atmosphere of expectation here at Balise House concerning three of the constituencies that the PNM's screening committee will be seeking candidates, prospective candidates for, for the general election due later this year.
00:53Those are Diego Martin West, presently represented by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, who has said he will not be offering himself up as a candidate for the party for the general election as part of his retirement plans as it were.
01:05We also have Diego Martin North East, presently represented by the Finance Minister Colin Inberth, and also Diego Martin Central, represented by the Communications Minister Simon Dinobrego.
01:15But we can tell you tonight that one of the constituencies that the PNM had been seeking a candidate for, a prospective candidate, well, they've made that decision, and that's Camuto Manzanilla, and we have the prospective candidate here right now.
01:29We'll allow you, sir, to introduce yourself to the public, to those who may not know you, and just tell us in terms of what would be your key objective for the campaign for this election for Camuto Manzanilla.
01:39Thank you very much, thank you for the opportunity, and good evening to your viewers.
01:42I am Sanjiv Budu, I'm an attorney at Law and a businessman, I'm operating business in the constituency of Camuto Manzanilla.
01:48The first objective we have to look at is the fact that the PNM has not had a representative in Camuto Manzanilla for far too long, and as a result of that there's been a paucity of representation.
02:00Representation on the major issues, such as the infrastructural development, needs for roads, drainage, and of course access to water, pipe-borne water, reliable supply of water.
02:12In respect of those issues, we already have started the work. On Wednesday afternoon at 4.30 we have the Minister of Public Utilities coming to Camuto Manzanilla to meet with the constituents, and I'll take the opportunity to invite the constituents to come out to the Correal Community Centre at 4.30 and meet with the Minister.
02:28Minister, let's start dealing with the issues within the constituency and demonstrate what proper, transparent and accountable representation looks like.
02:37And how was the process for you this evening in terms of appearing before the Screening Committee, the types of questions they would have posed to you in terms of some of those very issues, for example, including the issue of the road network, transportation issues and so on?
02:51The Screening Committee has not only to consider one's qualification to be a Member of Parliament, but also you have to consider, or the Screening Committee has to consider, the particular candidate's suitability to the unique needs of every constituency.
03:07I am very confident in the process. The process, to me, always results in the best choice out of the available choices.
03:15As you know, the Screening Committee is chaired by the political leader and the leadership of the party, and it was an interesting process. It is never a bad experience, it's always a learning experience and an opportunity to sit before the leaders of the party, members of government all, and of course the constituency executive.
03:33And I have here Mr. Joseph, our constituency chairman with me, and you sit there and you answer the hard questions and you try to present what you can do, what can set you aside as a candidate.
03:44And just finally, what would have inspired you to get into frontline politics, especially at a time when there's this whole question about the tenor, the tone of the kind of political conversation, issues of race, religion, other things have been brought up recently. Are you deterred or do you feel that you can get through the noise to get your message to constituents about the issues that matter to them?
04:10I think it is important now more than ever for young professionals, young people in the society to come forward and take part in addressing the issues that we have in Trinidad and Tobago. I don't think we can any longer sit behind our computers and be critics.
04:32It is time for us to get into the arena and be the change that we want to see, effect that change, or at least make a decent effort to do that. So I am encouraged by what's happening in the political climate to come and be a participant in what I want politics to look like for my country.
04:53Thank you very much, sir. All the best to you. There you have it, of course, the PNM's prospective candidates for Komoto Manzanilla. We just spoke with him. As the screening committee will also be this evening looking at, as we said before, prospective candidates for the three Degomartin constituencies, including Degomartin West, where, of course, the Prime Minister will not be offering himself as a candidate for that constituency.
05:18And, of course, we'll have further updates as we have them tonight. And also you can look out for more in the morning edition and tomorrow's night's TV6 News broadcast.
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