The Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) welcomes the State of Emergency (SoE) as a method to reduce crime.
Speaking with Guardian Media outside the Chamber’s Cumberbatch Street offices, CCIC head Baldath Maharaj said the Chamber has been calling for a SoE for the longest while.
He said, “It's welcomed by the businessmen and more so the entire board of the CCIC.”
Maharaj said the armed forces should exercise caution.
“The last time one was done, it cost us taxpayers a lot of money and we should exercise some level of caution to ensure that when we conduct those searches and arrests it confirms with the laws of T&T. A lot of those who were arrested were not charged and the state had to pay a lot of money towards them.”
Maharaj said the business community does not mind the disruption caused by the SoE.
“If it (crime) continues in this way it would affect our lives and livelihood. Maharaj said he hopes the armed forces may be able to go in, do searches and dismantle networks, recover arms and ammunition and devices used to extort businessmen.
Maharaj said the CCIC would like to see the SoE run as long as possible to get the job done.
He added that the SoE should put some measure of control on the pre-Carnival crime wave.
"As we go into the New Year a lot of people would want to settle scores and we know that there have been around 20 murders in the past few days and with that come reprisal killings. Going forward into Carnival, criminals need money to spend at their whim and fancy and they obviously have to get it from the business community as well as the general population at large."
