The less-than-cordial relationship between the Central Government and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) complicates the response to the recent spike in murders in Tobago.
Not even halfway through the year, the island has already recorded ten murders, most of them gang-related, and seems on a fast track to surpassing the 14 murders for all of 2023.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Chief Secretary Farley Augustine have expressed concern about the situation. However, this is a matter in which action, not talk, is urgently required, preferably with a unified approach.
It cannot be Tobago versus Trinidad. Violent crime is the biggest problem facing T&T and the nation’s best crime-fighting efforts and resources must be directed at this common enemy.
The gang warfare now being waged on Tobago soil is one aspect of the longstanding national crisis that has been challenging the country’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies since the 1980s.
The suggestion that criminals from Trinidad have infiltrated and tainted the once safe and serene sister island with lawlessness and violence is neither an accurate assessment of the current situation, nor is it helpful in tackling this problem.
Finding solutions to the uptick in murders in Tobago and escalating crime nationwide requires setting aside political and adopting a clear-headed, bipartisan approach — something the two political administrations are yet to demonstrate.
However, last weekend’s fatal shooting of Samuel ‘Indian’ Maharaj in Whim village, should be a strong enough wake-up call to the Government and the THA.
Based on their recent utterances, the two political leaders don’t seem averse to joining forces against the criminal elements.
On his return from Ghana and India on Sunday, Dr Rowley said his administration is “prepared to work with any and all citizens, agencies and entities to ensure that the criminals do not prevail and continue to terrorise us indefinitely”.
Mr Augustine, for his part, spoke recently about the need for a “strong foundation of collective social action against criminals and criminal conduct where we know they exist”.
So it is a bit worrying that they have not yet met to work out a joint response to the recent murders in Tobago.
Too much is at stake, including Tobago’s tourism-dependent economy, for there to be any delays in delivering a strong response to the emerging gang violence.
Past experiences with violent crime in Tobago, particularly those occasions when tourists were the victims, putting a terrible stain on the once peaceful and beautiful island, should be strong enough motivation to confront this issue head-on.
Tobago tourism has not yet fully recovered from a spate of incidents between 2008 and 2009, including the murders of a Swedish couple in their hotel room. The most severe repercussions followed the violent robbery of British couple Peter and Murium Greene, who subsequently began a well-publicised campaign for a boycott of the island after their horrible 2009 experience.
With murders quickly becoming a major problem, there could be repeats of these incidents, with all of the accompanying social and economic consequences.
This country has all the necessary ingredients for an excellent tourism product— culture, cuisine, a myriad of annual festivals and two carnivals. But crime, especially violent crime, is a deterrent to the development of that industry into a major driver of the T&T economy.
That is why the Central Government and the THA should join forces to confront this national crisis.