MP for Chaguanas West Jack Warner is calling for Prime Minister Patrick Manning to come clean about his motives on purchasing four AW139 helicopters, costing $2.3 billion.

As reported in the Sunday Guardian, the Government had awarded a $2.1 billion contract to an Italian firm to provide the four aircraft for the country’s Air Guard, Web sites and wire services. The acquisition of the helicopters was a part of strategy to upgrade the capacity of the country’s national security. The plan to acquire the aircraft was outlined in a 2003 budget speech by Manning.

Warner has raised his concern over the purchase, questioning whether or not it is to benefit crime-fighting or a strategy by the Prime Minister to provide himself with VIP corporate transportation to travel around the region. Warner asked how the Government plans to justify the amount of financial output in relation to how it affects the country’s high crime rate. In a news release, Warner said: “The basic argument that we must raise with the Government is how do they intend to translate this amount of output into outcomes that reduces crime in T&T.” He also questioned whether spending an excess of $4 billion on crime-fighting initiatives such as the blimp and three off-shore patrol vessels was reasonable when other sectors, example the health sector, were suffering.

Warner said, “The Government must tell us what is the total cost for this crime-fighting initiative for us to determine whether in a country where water is not available to all, where flooding is a perennial problem, where school buildings, magistrate courts are in a dilapidated state, where key positions in the judicature are not being filled that there is not a more efficient and cost effective method to deal with crime.” Warner has asked Manning to step forward and “come clean” with his motivation in purchasing the four helicopters and how they will directly affect the high crime rate.