By Prior Beharry
OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to take over the portfolio of national security.
She again called for the removal of National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds at a press conference in the Parliament after debate on the 2023/2024 Budget ended on Thursday.
In his contribution to the debate, Dr Rowley said he was not going to be rotating the national security portfolio unlike Persad-Bissessar, who as prime minister had seven such ministers.
But, the opposition leader maintained her call for Hinds to go. She said, “I urge the (prime) minister to dismiss Mr Hinds, and he himself should assume the position of National Security Minister. Rowley must man up and show some leadership in this most critical area.”
Describing, Trinidad and Tobago as a war zone, she said, “All of his ministers of National Security thus far have failed. I don’t want to hear that as prime minister he cannot also be minister ofnational security. Other prime ministers have led national security where needed. Well, prime minister as I say this, (it) is the time for you to take the lead.”
Persad-Bissessar said since 2015, the number of serious crimes including home invasions, murders, extortion, rapes and robberies has skyrocketed and that Rowley’s budget contribution was “the most embarrassing speech” in the history of budget debates.
She said he did not address the assassination attempt on the life of Deputy Prisons Commissioner Sherwin Bruce or other issues such as the effect of crime on business owners.
Persad-Bissessar said, “This man is fighting and attacking everyone in the country besides the criminals. He voiced no empathy for the thousands of families that have lost innocent loved ones in horrible homicides, home invasions, blatant street attacks and other dastardly crimes. The prime minister showed no concern at the impact of crime on business owners, many of whom are shutting down their operations, sending home workers and seeking to migrate because of extortion.”
She said since the PNM took office in 2015, there have been 4,000 murders.
Persad-Bissessar said, “If we use a 13% detection rate it would mean just about 3,480 murders have gone unsolved and undetected. Today the prime minister asked us if we would be willing to support laws that would allow police to publish pictures of people to find their whereabouts.
