Caption: Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley
By Prior Beharry
PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley says he is not to be blamed for the spiraling crime situation in the country, stressing that it doesn’t matter who is in office.
Speaking at a press conference at Whitehall on Wednesday, Dr Rowley said, “Don’t let anybody fool you, that crime is not being done based on who is in office.
“It’s done on the basis of whether there are benefits to be had by the perpetrators, and as fast as you stop or suppress one area, they surprise you with new ingenuity and heartlessness.”
Dr Rowley decried the senseless violence, especially against children in referring to the deaths of Enrico Guerra and his five-year-old daughter Anika in Moruga.
He described the killer as “a different kind of devil,” expressing his deep sadness and lack of empathy for these criminals.
Rowley said that crime should not be attributed to political officeholders but condemned the real “monsters” responsible for violence against law-abiding citizens.
He said, “For a fellow citizen to have seen a child in somebody’s hand or in somebody’s presence and deliberately discharge a firearm knowing that you’re going to kill that child, you are a different kind of devil.
“Unfortunately, we have those in this country… you will watch a five-year-old child and discharge a firearm into that child’s little body? I am a grandfather of four children, and that one made me feel very sad for the people to have ended up producing that as part of their family.
“And, I have no excuse to make or any empathy to hold out for people like that because you are destroying our society.”
Dr Rowley also dismissed poverty as an excuse for violent crime, urging young people to seize government opportunities instead of resorting to violence.
Since Keith Scotland’s appointment as Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Rowley said he was working in collaboration with the police to address crime,.
About 416 murders have been recorded this year.
