Oma or Imelda

On October 27, Oma Panday will turn 50 and for those 50 years of existence, she has managed to accomplish quite a feat. Oma Panday became Trinidad and Tobago’s first female Prime Minister, not in name, but in fact, walking the corridors of power and making decisions that affected our lives, much like Imelda Marcos of the Philippines and Eva Peron of Argentina.

Oma had the power and with it, she successfully led the United National Congress out of government in spectacular style. She continues to wield power at an unprecedented level, with some saying that St. Joseph MP Gerald Yetming has become her latest casualty. Earlier this week, Yetming declared that he no longer supported Basdeo Panday as Leader of the Opposition. Among the issues was the lack of transparency in the recount for the vice chairman position within that party after the recent internal polls, the fact that Winston Dookeran should be the Leader of the Opposition and that Panday is unwilling to give Dookeran the space the lead.

All are legitimate concerns especially since Vasant Bharat, the individual for whom the eventual victory was declared for the position of vice chairman is a close associate of Oma. Some even considered him to be Oma’s “bag man” whilst at the National Floor Mills. Time will eventually prove whether there was any truth to this rumour. To be fair, it is not being suggested that the election was rigged, and the ballot boxes tampered with between the election and the recount [not in this article]. However, the public perception remains that this did in fact take place.

Oma was quite a character whilst she lived at La Fantasia, the official residence of the Prime Minister. Many came to fondly refer to Oma as Her Majesty. While on the throne, Her Majesty participated in several high profile events, such as playing mas with “Poison”, now affectionately referred to as “Sluts Are Us.”

On April 19, 1999, Corporal Anthony Caesar shot and killed Commander Penco at the official residence of the Prime Minister. Oma was beside herself with the killing and speculation ran wild as to the reason for this behaviour. Her Majesty has always been able to attract attention, not all of it good.

Not to mention the 1999 Miss Universe Pageant where Her Majesty got to sit on the lap of a former Heavyweight Champion on the World – Evander Holyfield. That must have been exciting!

To be fair though, Her Majesty did set up what came to be known as the Organization for Socio- Economic Development [OSCD], which had at least one dinner at Howard Chin Lee’s Pier 1 to raise funds for needy children. I wonder whatever became of that.

My memory recalls the occasion where on December 24, 2001, President ANR Robinson appointed Patrick Manning as Prime Minister. Her Majesty went into a state of uncontrollable hysteria, bawling down the place as if the world was going to end. Perhaps it did! No longer surrounded by all her friends, sycophants and lackeys, Her Majesty must have felt all alone. Gone are the days when people were fighting to buy Her Majesty plane tickets and invite her to all the social parties. My, look how the mighty has fallen!

Oma was not to be outdone. She maintained firm control over the party she has been leading for some time. Without a doubt, Her Majesty has been responsible for every still estrangement between her husband and his former colleagues. It is extremely difficult to see the ole Bas without Oma’s permission. The population is acutely aware that Her Majesty was central to the breakup between Bas and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. In an effort to maintain power, she encouraged the Bas to take a hard line with Gillian Lucky and Fuad Khan and now, we come to the current situation.

Her Majesty had no intention of giving up political leadership of the party she has built with her blood, sweat and tears, oh no! In light of the pervading tide, she eventually relented and surrendered the title of political leader to Dookeran, but that was only in name. It is plain for all to see that Oma intends to maintain control from the position of chairman. Thus, we continue with a rapid decent of the UNC.

In short, Oma Panday has been responsible for taking the Indian tribe out of government in spectacular fashion, this after they fought and struggled for many generations to achieve political power. This loss of power was based on one woman’s lust for control, for the nice life and to be recognized in all her glory as the Queen of Trinidad and Tobago. Now, together with husband Bas, she faces criminal charges. The only thing I want to know is this: Why was their need for Oma Panday to open an account at the National Westminster Bank [London] in her maiden name? After being married for so long, one wonders why her maiden name was being used on this occasion.

The deteriorating state of the UNC will leave it crippled beyond repair if Her Majesty continues to control from the behind and pull the strings of her sycophants, puppets and spies throughout the party. Some are afraid of Her Majesty, and rightly so, but I am not. I must admit that I was once quite fond of Oma, back in the days before Basdeo Panday became Prime Minister. Those were good days. Unfortunately, the bright lights of power have corrupted her soul to the point where a complete metamorphosis has taken place. The chauffeur driven limousines, plane rides and properties on two continents have had their debilitating effect. The time has come for the UNC, if it is to move forward, to exile Oma Panday to the annals of history, to lessen her influence, and take back control of their own destiny.

On the occasion of Her Majesty’s 50th birthday, I offer to her the comfort of this story:




Patrick Manning has a heart attack and dies. He goes to hell where the devil is waiting for him. "I don't know what to do here," says the devil. "You're on my list but I have no room for you, but you definitely have to stay here, so I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I've got 3 people here who weren't quite as bad as you. I'll let one of them go, but you have to take their place. I'll even let YOU decide who leaves." Patrick thought that sounded pretty good, so he agreed. The devil opened the first room. In it was Keith Rowley and a large pool of water. He kept diving in and surfacing empty handed over and over and over. Such was his fate in hell. "No!" Patrick said. "I doh think so nah. I'm not a good swimmer and doh think I could do dat all day long." The devil led him to the next room. In it was Franklyn Khan with a sledgehammer and a room full of rocks. All he did was swing that hammer, time after time after time. "No! I've got dis problem with meh shoulder. I would be in constant agony if all I could do was break rocks all day!" commented Patrick. The devil opened a third door. In it, Patrick saw Basdeo Panday lying naked on the floor with his arms staked over his head and his legs staked in spread eagle pose. Bent over him was Oma Panday, giving her husband the best shine ever!! Patrick Manning looked at this in disbelief for a while and finally said, "Yeah oui, I go handle dis."
The devil smiled and said.... "Oma, you're free to go!"