INTERIM Congress of the People (COP) chairman Lonsdale Williams has asked interim party leader Prakash Ramadhar to make his request to obtain certain information about the COP to the relevant authorities in the party and not to him.
Williams gave this response on December 25 to a written request on December 23 from Ramadhar for information pertaining to the financial and political status of the COP on or before December 27.
In an interview, Williams said, "Mr Ramadhar needs to pose that question to the national executive (natex) meeting to the relevant secretary."
He added, "Most of the questions that Mr Ramadhar has posed to me, should be dealt with by the relevant individuals."
Williams said Ramadhar needs to pose his questions to the right people and in the proper way.
He added he will make no further comment until the COP's natex meets to discuss the matters raised by Ramadhar.
Party officials, speaking under condition of anonymity, said Ramadhar would have issued a release which said party matters would be handled internally.
They found it strange that Ramadhar made the request that he has "in the public domain."
In a signed letter to Williams on December 23, which bore the COP’s insignia, Ramadhar said, “Given the urgency of the state of decay the party has been allowed to fall into, and the impending general elections, I require these reports to be presented to me on or before December 27, 2024.”
Ramadhar has asked Williams for information including a complete list of all national executive and national council members (elected or appointed, dates of their appointment and their titled positions), minutes of the last ten natex meetings, the financial health of the party (with a copy of current accounts detailing income and expenditure over the last three years) and a report on the current active membership of the party.
He said all of this is necessary for him “to ascertain the general health and status of the party and its organs.”
In an interview on December 20, Ramadhar said he had been appointed interim leader after former interim leader Kirt Sinnette resigned on December 9.
He added his priority was to fix the COP first before the party committed to joining any coalition to contest the next general election.
In a daily newspaper report on December 21, United National Congress (UNC) political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said smaller political parties wishing to form a coalition with the UNC must publicly provide details of their strengths before they can be considered to join a UNC-led coalition.
In that report, Persad-Bissessar also said she had been speaking with Ramadhar before and after he became interim COP leader.
On December 12, Persad-Bissessar held talks with representatives of the Movement for National Development (MND), Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP), COP, Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), Public Services Association and other groups about creating a coalition of interests.
The NTA (National Transformation Alliance), COP and HOPE (Honesty Opportunit
