PM: Foreign or local “I don’t care, investigate it”
PLEDGE TO CONTINUE FIGHTING CRIME
We will end poverty and hunger.
We will end homelessness.
We will continue to educate our children so no one is left behind.
And when we lock them up we would make sure that we cut them off from their crime networks.
I am a mother and every time I hear of a murder or a vicious crime against our sons and daughters my heart grieves.
I grieve with the family of Cpl. Abraham who was taken away from us by gun-toting killers.
I grieve with the thousands of mothers and fathers of this land who have lost children in the senseless mayhem that was allowed to continue unchecked by the previous administration.
Our tears cannot bring them back.
But we can take action to end the killings.
As your Prime Minister and the Chair of the National Security Council, I pledge to continue to focus all my energy in efforts to end crime and bring criminals to justice.
And I call on the opposition again to help us fight crime and make our communities safe again.
YOU cannot hide behind lame excuses.
You too have a responsibility to all our citizens and we ask you to support us to fight crime.
They said a woman is too weak to lead.
They were wrong.
Our vision is for a better life for all.
From the moment we took office we embarked upon a programme of people centered development the likes of which this country has never seen before.
So when they ask you where is the development in Trinidad and Tobago :
Tell them to look for it in the eyes of a happier, healthier child;
Tell them to talk with the families who now have a home after waiting on them for upwards of 20, 30 and even 40 years.
Tell them to seek out the 500 families who were selected this week in the historic first draw in our innovative “Land for the Landless programme”.
Tell them to speak to the Tens of thousands of children who now have computers to keep pace with a world where technology has redefined learning where
And we are looking after our children in other ways… creating jobs for their parents, improving services everywhere, providing homes.
Our Children’s Life Fund guarantees that children no longer have to die when their parents cannot afford lifesaving surgery overseas…
Between June 2010 when we first started the Children’s Life Fund through the Ministry of Health and May 15th this year, we have disbursed $18.2 million to help children.
And I am advised that government MPs and senator have contributed over one million dollars of their salaries to saving the lives of our children.
And I want to tell you that our fund is healthy … with $57.72 million in the bank to help others who need it.
My sisters and brothers that is the kind of caring you could only get from our People’s Partnership government.
OUR VISION
Our vision is founded on fundamental respect for the individual.
It is a vision of a rainbow country in which all of us will live in harmony
It is a vision rooted in our belief that all of us are equal
It is a vision of freedom, justice, equality, respect and love for each and every one
It is a vision that embraces everyone so that each of us could blossom and grow and realize our full potential
It is a vision of all of us working to build a progressive country for ourselves and our children and for future generations
We – and I say we because I mean all of us, citizens in a free and democratic society – have embarked on an historic journey from which we will never turn back.
YES, there will be detractors and opportunists.
We find that in every struggle.
But I want to assure you and our nation that nothing will distract us from uniting our nation.
When I embarked on this mission, I pledged never to walk alone.
I pledged to invite all our citizens to walk with me to shake our nation out of its deadly slumber.
And I asked all of us to put God in front so we could walk behind with His guidance and blessings.
We embarked on our journey three years ago.
We have made great strides but we still have a distance to travel before we conquer the enemies such as crime, poverty and hunger.
I have said before that poverty, pain and unhappiness have no religion and that hunger has no race.
I repeat what I have said over and over again.
SO LONG AS I REMAIN YOUR LEADER I ASSURE YOU THAT there will be no discrimination and alienation.
Government of the people means ALL the people – whether you are PNM, COP, UNC, NJAC, TOP, MSJ … whether you are a worker or a corporate business leader … there will always be room for everyone.
All we ask is one thing …
WE ask you to take our hands and join us for the sake of Mother Trinidad and Tobago.
We have a clear vision of what our country must be … and we need you to share that vision and be a part of the social and economic revolution that we started three years ago.
Our vision is that this country must be one where we nurture and raise every child as our own
Our vision is one where our people celebrate that which brings us together, not dwell on what sets us apart
a vision of a new society that we fashion with discipline and where we open our doors to one another and welcome the best human values
It is a vision of a new society with respect for each other and the preservation of human dignity
It is a vision of a country where the poorest have the same opportunities as the most affluent, where we treat the differently-abled with respect, where we care for the young and elderly with dignity, where we value and cherish the contribution of all.
It is the vision of a society where every family has a home, where no one goes hungry, where every woman and every child and every elderly person is respected, where everyone who wants a job can have one.
As a citizen of our blessed land, as a mother and grandmother, and as your Prime Minister, I assure you that I know the value of love and compassion.
As I end my conversation with you tonight, I pledge to continue to embrace everyone in unity, so that we will live as one family, under God, enjoying and sharing the bounty of our land.
We must never again engage in divisiveness …we must always celebrate our diversity and our rich heritage.
Let us live together.
Let us dream dreams together and
Et us together build a nation of equals where each of us would be free … and free from fear.
And I promise you I will not fail you.
And so I ask you again, as I did three years ago, let us put God in front and let us walk behind.
Let us live the way the Almighty meant it to be – one family, dedicated to our mother Trinidad and Tobago.
Ours is a diversity to celebrate and let us understand everyday that we are indeed a blessed nation!!
-End-