Prime Minister Patrick Manning returned from Jamaica Monday in time for that night’s PNM public meeting in Chaguanas, and announced that Trinidad and Tobago’s economy was the best performing in the Caribbean.

This, he said, was revealed during his discussions with heads of government in Jamaica.

The success, he said, was because of the management of the economy by the PNM.

When Manning spoke at a public meeting in Arima on July 27, he revealed a foiled plot to assassinate him by an unnamed organisation.

When he came to Chaguanas Monday night, Manning arrived in a motorcade of eight patrol vehicles.

He was surrounded by eight police officers as he entered the meeting at Centre City Mall carpark.

And when he addressed the crowd, four men lined the front of the stage. The crowd, usually within touching distance of the stage, were kept more than 25 feet away.

Manning made no mention of the recent attack on a British couple in Tobago.

He spoke of the progress of the draft constitution for Trinidad and Tobago.

Manning said ’we are not in a hurry. We want maximum participation by the public. It took three years to develop the framework and it will take two more years to be completed.’

General elections would be constitutionally due in 2012, one year after Manning’s time frame for the adoption of the new constitution.

Manning said ’another round of public consultation on constitutional reform will take place with a view to drafting a Green Paper.’

He said there were already 51 consultations, and a Green Paper will be prepared.

’Finally we propose to have a Queen’s Hall system of public discussions to hammer out the differences, after which a final constitution will be brought to Parliament.’

He said the new constitution should reflect the history and culture of the people, and not one prepared by technocrats and intellectuals.

He said previous constitutional committees consisted of academics ’and when the constitution proposed by them went to Parliament it had to be changed’.

He said ’The approach was fundamentally flawed. If you set up academics alone, it will be flawed.’

He again hit out at UNC Caroni East MP for his statement on ethnic cleansing during a recent debate in Parliament.

’They would call on the race card to try and discredit the PNM, (and) to divide the society.’

Manning told his supporters not to get involved in the race issues but concentrate on living together in harmony. He said there should be a commitment on the issue.

’When we say we want to live together in harmony with people who are different from us, I want it to be a commitment from your heart,’ said Manning.