The United National Congress Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal has described the media crime briefing hosted by the Prime Minister on Tuesday as “grand charge, gallery and politics.”
The party continued to strongly criticise the new crime initiatives outlined for Tobago by the Prime Minister, Minister of National Security and Police Commissioner seeking to combat an unprecedented murder rate in Tobago.
“That is the two seats in Tobago they are campaigning for next year, to smuggle their way and stay in government,” Moonilal said at the party’s headquarters in Chaguanas.
The Oropouche East MP said the Prime Minister, as a Tobagonian, should hang his head in shame for failing to protect the people there. Dr Moonilal said the former People’s Partnership administration had a plan to protect Tobago, and they began implementation one year before being voted out in 2015.
“We installed 185 CCTV cameras in Tobago; it was the first time Tobago saw CCTV cameras in that way. To deal with law and order and to deal with crime. Do you know how much cameras are functioning today? 181. They fixed a few but they have not added one single new CCTV camera in nine years,” Moonilal claimed.
Moonilal said he was also lost for words when the Prime Minister said there may be too many police from Tobago operating on the island, which can lead to a level of familiarity that can inhibit crime-fighting efforts.
“There’s a twin island territory in the region called St Kitts and Nevis, do you know they have less people than Tobago? So, where their policemen come from? Martinique? Puerto Rico? Where the policemen in Grenada come from? The issue is not that you have too much Tobago policemen.
“So, what is the problem in Trinidad? That we have too many Trinidadian policemen?” Dr Moonilal asked.
Dr Moonilal said it seems as if the Prime Minister cared more about the livestock in Tobago than its people.
