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  • 5 months ago
As the PNM prepares to celebrate 70 years and heads into its internal election this weekend, Opposition Leader Penelope Beckles is calling for reflection and reform.

In a passionate address in her hometown of San Fernando, Beckles acknowledged the party's past pain, current divisions, and the urgent need to do better.

Transcript
00:00Opposition leader Penelope Beckles returned to her roots in San Fernando, the city where she grew up and went to school.
00:07But her message was anything but sentimental. It was a reality check.
00:12And when you learn your lesson and you go through the history of the party for the last 70 years,
00:18it is because no matter what happened, no matter if we lost, no matter if candidates didn't win,
00:26we found a mechanism to come back together through all the hurt and the pain and make sure that we go together as one PNM.
00:35That growth, she says, can only be achieved if the party is honest about its feelings.
00:41Somewhere along the line, if we have been honest, we have lost our way as it relates to the functioning of many of the arms of our great party.
00:53And those who have offered themselves to serve know that we have to do better.
01:02Because some of the reasons why we found ourselves in opposition is because many of the officers fell down on the job.
01:12Beckles warned that power struggles and ambition without accountability are holding the party back.
01:18And I want to just caution those who are so excited or appear to be excited or interested in office in the party
01:29that they don't understand that we cannot move forward if they continue to operate in the way they're operating.
01:36She pointed to attacks on members of her slate who wants to serve under previous prime ministers.
01:42Irene Hines, Foster Cummings, and Indar Parashra were on the slate of the Honorable Patrick Manning.
01:54They were also on the slate of Dr. Keith Christopher Rowley.
02:00Coming on the slate of Penelope Beckles, they become the worst things since sliced bread.
02:06And I'm asking myself what it has happened in between the time that they were there for the two political leaders and prime ministers.
02:15And as soon as they come across by Penny, something becomes wrong.
02:20And that is what we have to be careful about in the PNM.
02:24She emphasized her commitment to accessibility, hosting open days at the party's headquarters as well as its Chagornas and San Fernando offices.
02:33Beckles closed by reminding supporters that 13 MPs today can still be effective,
02:39just as three were after the party's historic 1986 loss.
02:45Aksha Galston, TV6 News.
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