Talk:Patrick Manning

Patrick manning did alot for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

For Exmaple ?

yep, gotta love someone who becomes party leader because everyone else lost their seats, and then says "call me Father of the Nation"

This Anti-PNM rhetoric is not useful for this site. Please stop it!

Imbalanced or incomplete information

The information presented in this article is not balanced. It appears to be written by a critic rather than a historian or journalist.

Reporting on any public figure must include high and low points of their administration. Unfortunately, this article appeared to be focused on the low points. While it is true that the lows must be stated, for balanced reporting the highs must be stated as well.

There is no mention for example of the CDAP programme where essential drugs are provided to members of the public at no cost. No mention of moves made to alleviate traffic in various parts of the country. No mention made of the proposed 2020 vision. No mention made of the famous 'stand alone, lose alone' statement after losing elections in 1995. No mention made of the enhancements made to the Independence Square, changing the appearance of Port of Spain during the first term. No mention made of the turning the sod for the National Library complex.

Balanced reporting should include all relevant information, whether agreed to or not. There should therefore be a major upheaval on this site.

Ishango replies

I do agree. The person who wrote the above should write it, though!

Improving the article

I think there's a good start here, and the potential for a featured article, but there are a number of major gaps, as the anon alluded to. I agree that the problem is balance - it's easy to write about (and easy to source) the problems.

• Achievements in his first term
  • Float of the TT$
  • Divestment of state enterprises
  • What else?

• Achievements of his second term
  • Drug benefits, university
  • CEPEP
  • 20/20

• There needs to be a serious analysis of crime, and his inability to manage it. It was an important factor in the loss in 1995, and according to recent surveys, it's a major issue even with PNM supporters today. But how to source this?

Guettarda 11:35, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Ishango

I will attempt to do so, but not now. I have to go to the Public Library here in order to do so.

The issue of crime is a complex one. It spans many decades and many people have written about it. I think that it is of such, that it needs its own page.--Ishango 14:34, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Removing articles on Patrick Manning and Basdeo Panday

I think that both the article on Patrick Manning and Basdeo Panday should be removed from Wikipedia. These articles are written in a very unprofessional and non-factual way, and clearly display biases in the writer(s). It is embarrassing to see that people (most likely from Trinidad) are using Wikipedia articles to put forward political views rather than report useful biographical information. Given the political nature and biases that tend to come in writing these kind of biographies, it may be better for these to be omitted from Wikipedia rather than reflecting negatively on Trinidadian politics (and the Trinidadian people who are attempting to describe these). It is really embarrassing as a Trinidadian person aware of the political climate to be reading these articles that are supposed to communicate encyclopedic knowledge, and they certainly seem to be highly unrepresentative of the information this kind of article should convey.

For example, here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Basdeo Panday:

"Now in the last years of his political career, he has been called back to leader the United National Congress a move that would more than likely see Panday face his nemesis the PNM in one final battle. Many have written off the 73 year old Panday but if history is any measure of the man he is not to be written off early. Panday has one more than one occassion demonstrated a capacity for re-invention and an almost pheonix like ability to emerge from the ashes. The final chapter in his incredibe political life is yet to be written."

Is this the quality of article that Wikipedia would like to be providing to the internet public?

Here are two excerpts from the Wikipedia article on Patrick Manning:

"Manning led the PNM to win the 1991 General Elections, and he served as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1995. His first administration was plagued by accusations of corruption by the Opposition. Crime rates increased dramatically. Accusations of links to the drug trade were made when it became known that drug lord Dole Chadee had purchased a car formerly owned by Manning."

"Manning has also been engaged in a long term battle with Trinidad and Tobago's Chief Justice, Sat Sharma. Under Manning's watch both the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice have been charged with criminal offences which many see as a form of political persecution. The only other country in the Commonwealth to have done the same is Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe."

Again, this type of article does not seem to reflect the information Wikipedia would like to make available as an entry in a knowledge base similar to an encyclopedia.

200.108.16.40 04:04, 24 December 2006 (UTC)Joseph Williams

Interesting Reading

The items in this article are accurate. A positive balanced is always required. However, it must be stressed it would require research. I must also state the number of positive will be minimal for this character. These articles must not be removed because there are no inaccurate descriptions. The truth must not be hidden. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Silverdolphin (talk • contribs) 15:31, 14 January 2007 (UTC).