The inability to curb gang violence, crimes against our citizens, the trafficking of arms and ammunition, and the transhipment of drugs, are symptomatic of a broader issue of wanting governance, blame-shifting, and enforcement challenges.
As the country grapples with these crimes, the call for accountability grows louder.
Governments have to take ownership of their performance, be it good or bad.
When young journalists ask questions, it’s the fourth estate demanding accountability, which is central to political, constitutional and institutional arrangements in Western liberal democracies.
Former PM Patrick Manning warned that we were heading for narco-state status. The narco-trade has been going on for about 60 years. The underground economy is deeply embedded in the very fabric of our society, millions worth of cocaine is shipped through our country.
Citizens must open their eyes to the fact that despite political promises, the intricate infrastructure required to sustain this trade, over so many years, remains untouched.
In July 2022, DOMA president Gregory Aboud said the high crime rate was a result of “many years of bad form in our governance model —zero performance management, zero accountability, and therefore zero results”.
On March 21, at a crime symposium hosted by Dr Indira Rampersad, Head of UWI’s Department of Political Science, CCJ judge Winston Anderson said, “People know exactly what needs to be done, and yet we are living in a situation which is intolerable, in which our people can’t go to work or stay in their homes in peace, in which we are faced with fear whenever we go out into society.
“What is happening is a result of the failure of the state, and the state is failing in many ways, in many areas – the police, the prosecution, the judges – and therefore the question arise(s): if persons are failing in all of these areas, then where is the accountability?
“There has to be – and I’m not suggesting any particular road to culpability – but there has to be a way of saying, ‘You are overseeing this aspect of our criminal justice system. It is not working... and therefore what are the remedies that are available?’
“So I believe accountability is something that’s important and I believe that it’s something we have to address.”
Cpl Zaheer Ali, of the Special Investigations Unit, questioned why the Civil Asset Forfeiture Bill was not proclaimed.
Criminal Bar Association president Israel Khan, SC, who was in the audience, suggested an SoE to seize all illegal weapons as one solution to our crime problem.
Probably Mr Khan can be retained by the State for advice on how to mitigate against the litigation that followed our last SoE.
The recent acquittals of the six police officers who were charged with the murder of three people illustrate Khan’s legal prowess.
Khan and his legal team outmanoeuvred the prosecuting team headed by Gilbert Peterson SC in a complex trial, both on the law and evidence. The jury took only 35 minutes to return a unanimous verdict of not guilty.
Khan now has the stature of an international criminal lawyer, as he was recently admitted to the list of Advocate Attorneys at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, which investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression.
Khan is noted for his iron-jawed disposition, not afraid to voice his opinion.
When allegations of abusing his office were levelled against Chief Justice Ivor Archie, Khan stated, “If the allegations are true, then Archie is a disgrace to the office of Chief Justice and the country.”
When Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds said criminals have friends in the judiciary, Khan retorted, “It was the nasty rant of a madman to distract from his own incompetence, ineptitude, weakness, and inability to formulate and design a crime plan as envisaged under Section 75 of the Constitution.”
Then when Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar described some lawyers who supported AG Reginald Armour in a no-confidence motion against him, as “shameless grovelers”and “eat ah food lawyers,” Khan commented, “Your vicious and baseless attack on the integrity of your fellow members of the Inner Bar was disgraceful, vulgar, dirty, obscene, shameless and wicked.”
On presenting Khan’s petition to the Electoral College of Parliament for the position of President, the Opposition Leader described him as, “fair and fearless, fiercely independent and strong-willed … He is well known as a fiercely independent person throughout the entire country”.
Probably we need someone like Mr Khan to stand up for our citizens against the criminals who are wreaking havoc in our country, as well as those in authority who shun accountability.