By Prior Beharry
AFTER joining forces to fight the last local government elections, political leader of the United National Congress (UNC) Kamla Persad-Bissessar and head of the National Alliance for Transformation (NTA) Gary Griffith are not seeing eye-to-eye.
At the Monday Night Report, Persad-Bissessar said that under Griffith’s term as police commissioner there were more than 1,900 murders. But, in an immediate response Griffith said she once referred to him as the best commissioner ever and he now wonders if she was the local Joe Biden.
On Monday evening, Persad-Bissessar referring to the track record of the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) said, “For the last nine years, there’s been an out-of-control crime spree because they have no plan or policy, only arrogance, and interference in selection of a CoP…”
She added, “First, they bypassed the top three selections – one, (Deodat) Dulalchan, two, (Harold) Philip and three, (Stephen) Williams, to handpick the fourth-ranked person, Gary Griffith.
“During Griffith’s time, we had 2018 – 523 murders, 2019 – 539 murders, 2020 – Covid’s many months of lockdowns, 396 murders, 2021 – 448 murders; 1,906 murders spanning the years 2018 to 2021 under Griffith. The PNM interfered and put the fourth-ranked person.
“Then they interfered to intercept the merit list to kick out Griffith. They handpicked McDonald Jacob (2022 – 613 murders). Then they chose Erla (2023 – 577 murders; eight months in 2024, over 400 murders). We’ve had almost 4,500 murders under this Government.”
Persad-Bissessar said there was a new type of tourism developing in Trinidad where foreign YouTube influencers come to “exploit the suffering of our crime situation.”
In a response to Persad-Bissessar in a release on Tuesday, Griffith said this was the third time that Persad-Bissessar had attacked him.
He said it was with a “heavy heart” that he must address the ongoing issues within the UNC under Persad-Bissessar’s leadership.
Griffith said, “Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s approach is to surround herself with ‘yes people’ and to undermine anyone who might challenge her authority.
“This has led to the exodus of dedicated members and has severely weakened the party’s ability to attract new supporters.”
He said during the last elections he worked closely with Persad-Bissessar and the UNC/NTA accommodation secured 60,000 more votes that the PNM in the local government elections.
Griffith said, “Her comments about my tenure as Commissioner of Police, where she falsely claimed I was a failure, only serve to highlight her lack of understanding of national security.
“The truth is that under my leadership, public trust in the police increased significantly to 59%, and we achieved the highest reduction in violent crime in 17 years—a fact that stands in stark contrast to her baseless claims.
“And as is now widely known, it wasn’t because of Covid, since October and November 2021 saw 58 and 69 murders respectively, the third and most murderous months at the time, which was achieved after my departure but Covid, curfew and SoE still existed, meaning , just like Keith Rowley, she attempted to mislead the country.”
He then questioned Persad-Bissessar’s political acuity.
Griffith said, “In addition, one must now question her political acuity, and wonder if she is now the local Joe Biden, since just over a year ago she was holding my hand and saying I was the best Police Commissioner ever, seeking me to speak at the UNC’s crime talks. Will the rank and file now stand up in the same manner as Joe’s people did and ask him to face reality, or will they refuse to tell her the truth?”
He claimed that Persad-Bissessar was being influenced by people within her party.
Griffith said, “Kamla’s refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue, her continued attacks on those who have supported her, and her inability to work with others who possess strength and vision are clear indicators that she is not the leader that the UNC, or the country, needs. It is also evident that Kamla is being influenced and controlled by others, such as Jerlean John, who appears to be directing her every move. This manipulation is damaging to the party and to our nation’s future.”
This tiff between Persad-Bissessar and Griffith comes following a post on the “UNC and Proud” Facebook page which is opposed to UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. It claimed that based on the UNC leadership’s “failure to unite the party” after the internal elections and the omission of certain MPs from UNC budget consultations, an agreement was made to form a new party called the UPTT.
Head of the United Patriots (UP) slate that lost in the recent internal elections Mayaro MP Rushton Paray has not confirmed his involvement in the news party but told the Trinidad Guardian he wasn’t surprised at the level of discussions and looked forward to a “front row ticket.”
