Senior Reporter
Parliament’s Joint Select Committee on National Security will be inquiring into the issues at the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) after the fifth session of Parliament begins in September. This has been confirmed.
Guarding Media understands that a decision has officially been taken for the SSA matters to be examined by the JSC. However, committee chairman Keith Scotland, SC, was not available for queries yesterday.
The SSA has been spotlighted since March when the National Security Council received certain information from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. An audit was launched, and the SSA’s leadership was changed. The former director’s services were terminated in May and 28 others were also fired. On July 3, in Parliament, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley delivered a statement on some of the audit’s findings so far.
Apart from SSA’s infiltration by members of a “cult” that was allegedly arming itself while advocating for trained military and paramilitary personnel with a religious calling to be the most suitable to “replace T&T’s political leadership,” other findings concerned increases in firearms and ammunition.
This involved guns increasing from 24 in 2016 to 103 by 2021, including the procurement of high-grade military bolt-action rifles, and ammunition purchases from 8,000 rounds in 2017 to 100,000 rounds in 2022.
Also noted was that 70,000 rounds of ammunition remain unrecorded and unaccounted for.
The day after Rowley’s statement, JSC member Randall Mitchell, noting the findings, wrote to the committee requesting an urgent JSC meeting relative to the SSA and related issues. He felt matters in the statement were of great concern and national importance, touching on national security. He felt it was incumbent on the JSC to inquire into the SSA’s operations and firearms and ammunition in T&T, and that an inquiry would assist in unearthing what actually transpired. He had suggested key people be summoned to a JSC meeting to answer queries.
On Monday, when the JSC on National Security met with Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher, among her replies was that investigations into SSA issues were at a sensitive stage.
On Wednesday, however, UNC deputy leader Roodal Moonilal, who is also on the JSC, noted Mitchell’s request for a JSC meeting on the SSA and accused the minister of trying to get “a next witch-hunt” on the security agency.
Mitchell said he has sought to have the JSC meet urgently, particularly after the revelation of the 70,000 rounds of ammunition unaccounted for and since there have been media reports that spent shells found at crime scenes have borne National Security service marks.
He felt the JSC could inquire into that and SSA’s operations. Mitchell noted certain JSC findings from another inquiry into security and the factors that contribute to the prevalence of illegal guns and gun violence in T&T.
Mitchell also cited the audit’s findings including the surreptitious establishment and operation of a highly trained and militarised “Tactical Response Unit” by the SSA outside of its statutory mandate.
Mitchell said it was therefore important and urgent the JSC on behalf of citizens “... be allowed to inquire and discover what actually transpired at the SSA to quell public concern.”