Even though the opposition and government’s crime discussions may not be moving further, opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the UNC would hold its consultation, this time involving the general public.
During a CCN TV6 Morning Edition interview, Persad-Bissessar stated that the scheduled consultation between the two sides was “not going anywhere.”
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She stated that the UNC has chosen to have its consultation, which would include interested parties, in recognition of the magnitude of the crime in the nation.
Persad-Bissessar shared, “I already have our three deputy leaders crafting that proposal for us as to where we will go and when we are going to start anti-crime talks in the country.
“We’ll go out and talk to the stakeholders and talk to anybody who wishes to come, we will start our own anti-crime talks. We will not sit and wait for the government to continue to find reasons not to have the crime talks,” she added.
Gary Griffith, the head of the National Transformation Alliance and a former police commissioner, was to be included in the crime negotiations, but this was a major source of disagreement when the talks first started.
The opposition also took issue with Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s exclusion from the suggested dialogue.
Conversely, the administration said that Griffith was not eligible for inclusion since the discussions were to take place among lawmakers, of which he was not one. Rowley also said that the success of these discussions did not need his attendance.
After the UNC’s anti-crime negotiations were concluded, the opposition leader stated, that a report would be put together, forwarded to the government, and distributed to civil society.
“From there, where it goes? It goes to the next election. Those will be our proposals to combat crime in the fight against crime.
“The present government seems totally incapable of dealing with the crime crisis in the country.
“So step by step, we share it with the government, and we share it with civil society, and we wait until the day comes to vote this government out of office and to implement proper crime-fighting mechanisms.”
According to Persad-Bissessar, between 2010 and 2015, her administration’s People’s Partnership term saw a decrease in severe crimes to the lowest level the nation had seen in thirty years.
“So we have a track record. Of course, some of those policies may work still but we do have others, and we may get more when we go to the stakeholders and have these conversations in the country.”
The current PNM government feels that the State of Emergency, which was one of the policies put in place during her administration, caused more harm than good, especially in light of the several lawsuits the state was hit with for the arrests that occurred during that time.
In response to inquiries on Griffith’s contribution to the nation’s past and future efforts to combat crime, Persad-Bissessar stated that under her government, he was an effective minister of national security and commissioner of police.
“I still think he has a lot to offer the country when it comes to dealing with national security issues,” she noted.
The Opposition Leader responded as follows when asked if Griffith would play a “role in the fight against crime” if the UNC won the 2025 general elections: “He will have a role. I will not say specifically now.”
“Those are matters opened for discussion. But certainly, he is part of our government, and there will be a role for him. He’s a very creative and very competent person in his own right.”
