MANNING MUM ON CHURCH
Jack charges Chinese building private structure:
Juhel Browne jbrowne@trinidadexpress.com
Opposition Chief Whip Jack Warner displayed a large photograph in the Parliament yesterday, of what he claims is a ’private church’ being built by Chinese workers from Shanghai, and asked Prime Minister Patrick Manning if it is being built with taxpayers’ money.
Warner claimed the church is being built in the Heights of Guanapo, east of Arima.
He made the allegation during yesterday’s sitting of the House of Representatives at the Red House, Port of Spain, during his contribution to the debate on the bill meant to establish the controversial Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority (TTRA).
The allegation came in response to comments made earlier in the debate by Culture Minister, Marlene McDonald, that the legislation will allow the Government to capture the revenue it is losing from the existing system that governs tax and duties collection.
Warner said he had received the photograph in his ’small post box’ after he returned home from a trip abroad on Thursday.
’Mr Speaker, this picture, I’m told, is a picture of a church being built in Guanapo Heights by some Shanghai Chinese. I’m told, Mr Speaker, I ask the question, this is the issue, I ask the question, is this where the money is designed to go,’ Warner said.
He then said ’if’ the information he received is correct ’can the Prime Minister’ confirm or deny it.
’Can the PM tell this House whether, of course, ... he knows anything about this church. Mr Prime Minister, can you tell us, please?’ Warner asked.
Manning did not rise to his feet to respond.
’Oh you wouldn’t answer, okay,’ Warner said.
He later alleged the church is being built with taxpayers’ money.
’Tell us, Mr Prime Minister, if it is not taxpayers’ money, with whose money? Tell us?’ Warner asked.
Again, Manning did not respond.
Speaking to reporters during the tea-break of yesterday’s Lower House sitting, Warner recalled Manning had once said he planned to take up preaching after politics.
On October 13, 2006, Manning revealed his plan to preach when his political career comes to an end in an article written by Marie Y. Thibault, editor-in-chief of The Tech, the newspaper of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA.
The interview was published in the form of a Q&A and near the end of it, Thibault, who is identified as TT (The Tech), asked Manning, who is identified as PM, what he intended to do after his political career has ended. Manning told Thibault that his life in politics had motivated him to become a full-time preacher. He also told The Tech that he would not die in office.
Warner told reporters yesterday that the site where the alleged church is being built already has security on it.
’I know the guy (who sent him the photograph) went to get pictures, they have security who ran them off ... from the land. In fact, they got T&TEC connection which they should not have gotten, which they were instructed to be given connection and all these things I was told in a letter in my postbox,’ Warner said.
He said Manning’s lack of response to his questions about it in the Parliament has raised even more questions about the structure.
’He has me now thinking some more. All he had to do, I was giving him a chance to answer, all he had to do was stand up and say that is not correct, that it is a nonsense, it is a fabrication, it is arrant nonsense and all he had to do was tell me all of that and I would have sat down. I gave him a chance to say so and the fact that he didn’t respond now, of course, put some bells on me and now I will send back an official person to investigate and get some pictures,’ Warner said.