AMIDST a backdrop of rising crime, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley addressed the ongoing State of Emergency (SoE) says it was necessary to target criminal elements
He assured citizens that while fundamental rights are treasured, decisive state action is critical to maintaining peace and security.
He said, “It is my hope that we all begin the New Year, 2025, energized, with clearer insights and that we are more open to new perspectives on the challenges that face our nation.
“It is in this context that I ask the nation to consider the existence, at this time, of a State of Emergency which is aimed at criminal elements in our society who have engaged in open warfare against each other and who were executing plans to make this unacceptable state of affairs the norm in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Dr Rowley said, “Much as we treasure our fundamental rights and freedoms, when murder, home invasion, kidnappings and extortion become the choice of commercial activity and sustenance of persons who threaten the peace and security of the national population, the State must then act decisively to restore a balance between the fundamental rights of all citizens and the protection from the dangerous excesses carried out by a lawless few.”
Acknowledging the dual presence of fear and hope in society, Dr Rowley urged citizens to conquer fear and sustain hope, a virtue he deemed essential for the nation’s progress.
He said, “As a Government, we understand that some citizens may, at some point, hold fears about the direction of the country, rather than hope, but I urge that they try to imagine how intolerable and shattering our lives would be without that virtue of hope.
“Understandably, both fear and hope reside within the human spirit and they can be misplaced, equally, with false expectations, but fear always has to be conquered, while hope, as a moral virtue, has to be sustained. We need that virtue of hope in order to successfully undertake our nation’s business.”
Highlighting economic issues, Dr Rowley said there have been three consecutive years of GDP growth and a projected 2.3% growth rate for 2025, as estimated by the IMF.
He noted the encouraging performance of the non-energy sector and the stability of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund, which stands at over US$6 billion. Foreign reserves of US$5.4 billion “giving us a comfortable buffer of seven to eight months of import cover…”
Dr Rowley said the unemployment rate remains low with inflation also being contained measuring 0.2 percent in October 2024.
The Government said in the Parliament that there are over 150 criminal gangs operating in the country. This has been confirmed by a few criminologists on national media. The question and concerns that I have is why a State of Emergency and not the implementation of a curfew where those criminal gangs are being located.