Former prime minister Basdeo Panday said the Office of the President is of no use to the country in its present configuration.
Following news of the nomination of Senate President Christine Kangaloo for the post of President of Trinidad and Tobago, Panday said ” the Office of the President is useless under the present Constitution. It does not matter who holds that office. What matters is, are we going to amend the Constitution and make that office meaningful?
“I sympathise with her. She is going to that office but she would not be able to do anything. At the end of the day, she would reap the same rewards as the outgoing president, thinking she can do something which she cannot and people would make the same comments they are making about the incumbent.”
Panday has been calling for the election of the President by the majority of the electorate through the one man-one vote system.
In his view, the president should head of the executive arm of the government while the Parliament remains the legislative arm.
Panday said while Kangaloo may be qualified for the position, she would not be able to do anything meaningful to deal with the country’s problems unless the office gets the power to do so.
“All you have to do is look at the incumbent who is a bright person and is honest, sincere…but poor thing, she could do nothing. The same thing is going to happen to whoever is elected as President.”
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