PORT OF SPAIN – Former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley recently accused the Trinidad and Tobago government of seeking to downplay the crime situation in the country and that “the crime plan is a rolling state of emergency” with public manipulations as their greatest effort”.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page, following the latest wave of criminal activities, including the murder of a police officer at a Municipal Police Station last Sunday, Rowley, who led a People’s National Movement (PNM) government from 2015 to early 2025, recall how “vociferous” the current administration when in opposition had been about the crime situation here.
“When I tried to address it by treating violent crime as a public health issue, they mocked and laughed and said it is only because of who is in office that we have a problem. Now, every day another violent incident occurs, and they try to downplay it.
“It is no longer the Prime Minister who should stop the killing. They claimed to have a simple crime plan that would turn things around to a satisfactory situation once they were given the reins of government. Now what!”
The ruling United National Congress (UNC) will on Saturday hold a public rally in central Trinidad marking the first anniversary of its April 28, 2025 general election victory with media advertisements making references to the “success” of the Kama Persad-Bissesar led-government since coming to office.
But Rowley in his social media page noted that “idiots and the criminally charged are in government, and the crime plan is a rolling “state of emergency” with public manipulations as their greatest effort.”
He questioned the presence of some government ministers and their contribution to the development of the country, saying “these are the leeches who cling and suck when they deserve to be brushed aside and stepped upon, yet they are carefully selected to protect and serve a leader who now thinks that the role of leadership is her entitlement.
“The voting and non-voting population chose this group of known individuals to run the country. Unfortunately, they bring nothing good to the table except hatred and bias towards others and a deep, abiding desire to use corrupt practices to protect and extract.
“This augurs for a very messy situation and damage to a lot of citizens and institutions. This then becomes the country, as hope shrivels and faith in the future is lost. When that happens, the quality of life for the whole population diminishes,” Rowley wrote.
On Tuesday, former acting commissioner of police, Stephen Williams, said that there is a flawed perception by the two major political parties that a state of emergency (SoE) can be used to fight crime in Trinidad and Tobago.
Williams, served as a police officer for 41 years and was acting commissioner, from 2012-2018, says the time has come for the government and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to pursue meaningful and deliberate crime fighting initiatives.
“SoE could never be a strategy. I started with the flawed process, flawed thinking because right now the present government has in fact followed the PNM with the perception that an SoE can be a strategy,” he said on a television programme. (CMC)
