Citizens must examine the Government’s anti-crime management based on statements Dr Keith Rowley made while in Opposition in 2012, where he said if a government can’t deal with crime, then the government itself is part of the problem.
That’s the view of United National Congress Senator Damian Lyder following the recent record crime wave, including gang-related murders.
There were six murders in 20 hours last Saturday. That included the killing of Sheldon Coutain, the Rasta City gang leader (St Francois Valley Road unit), just before 6 pm on Picton Street, Newtown, obliquely behind St Patrick’s Church. Residents cited heavy automatic weapon fire and the shooters’ vehicle speeding up the street, post-attack. Sixty-six shells were found at that scene.
Lyder yesterday noted that in 2012, Rowley was quoted as saying, “And if the Government can’t deal with it (crime) then the Government itself is part of the problem.”
He also noted that in April 2013, Rowley was quoted in the Express as saying, “Anytime a Government resorts to blaming the Opposition for its failure to deliver on their mandate and their responsibilities to the people, it is a clear sign that they have accepted that they have outlined their usefulness.”
Lyder added, “If Dr Rowley said those two statements while in Opposition, then I think it is clear that he has to declare on his own—through the yardstick of the 2012 statement at least— that his Government has failed and demonstrated PNM is incapable of fighting crime in T&T.
“If the Government is reluctant to do any introspection on its anti-crime management, then almost every person— from businesspeople to parents — have done that assessment. Nobody feels safe.
“It’s not necessary to politicise this. It’s simply that people don’t know if they may become ‘collateral damage’ while outside. They may see strange new elements in their areas or just suddenly become a target if they’re alone. This renewed crime wave and heated gang warfare spiralling out of control has given us murders, armed robberies, breaking and entering, home invasions and worse, school violence.”
He added, “This overall situation has made it clear this PNM administration is completely incapable of stamping out crime. It comes as no surprise that crime statistics are at the highest in over a decade when we had the National Security Minister recently say he’s not responsible for citizens’ safety and security. And the latest crisis has occurred after this Government presided over the collapse of a Police Service Commission and the removal of the former Police Commissioner, who was bent on reducing crime. There was a reduction under him but it began raging again after his removal.”
Lyder also called for Rowley to speak about his recent US trip.
“The country needs to know what benefits were achieved from this trip which taxpayers paid for, particularly since we’ve seen photos of the Prime Minister on a Zoom call with the US Vice President. He could have easily done that from Whitehall.”
