On that day, he was due to show up in Barbados for what it means to do it "the Manning way". Whether an alluded to "scheduling problem" developed in Port-of-Spain, or expediently in Bridgetown, remained a mystery at the time of writing yesterday.
As it turned out for the country, visits to, first Guyana, then Suriname on Wednesday, and as expected also for today's scheduled "stop-overs" in Belize and Jamaica, the Manning "mission" involved brief meetings with fellow heads of government, pleasantries in informal discussions with officials and, depending on time, sessions with the media.
In making the announcement Tuesday of Manning's proposed five-nation journey, the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown – whose spanking new headquarters he toured – had stated that he was on a "mission" to the identified CARICOM states.
Beyond the public relations photo opportunities, the exact nature of this "mission", and why Manning chose to undertake it to five – minus one by Wednesday – at this time, remains a puzzle. Question of relevance: Is Manning planning a "mission" to other CARICOM countries later? If so, why was it not explained in the first official announcement?
In less than three weeks, Manning would be handing over the chairmanship to Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St Kitts and Nevis, host for next month's 27th CARICOM Summit in Basseterre. CARICOM's chairmanship rotates on a six-month basis between inter-sessional and heads of government meetings.
So why did a seasoned veteran of CARICOM politics like Manning, who was elected chairman at last February's Inter-Sessional in Port-of-Spain, wait until now to undertake his selective visits?
Manning's announced "mission" has nothing to do with "shuttle diplomacy" for any known pressing issues requiring such hurried visits. Nor can it have anything to do with the draft agenda for next month's summit meeting, as every head of government still has the right to have a say in shaping the agenda for such an event.
Significantly, while he opted to travel to Central America to meet with Belize's Prime Minister Said Musa, Manning did not find it convenient (at this time?) to include any member country of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). This sub-region benefits comparatively significantly from Trinidad and Tobago's financial aid and also remains a vital intra-regional market for export commodities from the twin-island state.
There is nothing wrong in choosing the countries he did for his "mission". It is just that in the absence of any specific reason for so doing, one is left to speculate, maybe unfairly to him, about the real purpose of Manning's "mission". If it represents a goodwill gesture, surely it should have included at least one of the OECS countries. Possibly St Lucia. He succeeded its prime minister Kenny Anthony as CARICOM's chairman, and it is the location for the OECS Secretariat.
Manning happens to be, at present, the only CARICOM prime minister whose government can easily afford the expenditure involved to facilitate him carrying out his unique whirlwind "mission", with chartered aircraft, and so on, to do things "his way" as outgoing chairman.