Armour Should stick to Notetaking

The newest incarnation of “blame Kamla” and “blame UNC” came from Attorney General Reginald Armour last Friday in what ought to have been a serious debate on the crime situation which has escalated to epic proportions under this failed PNM administration.

The internationally disgraced AG should stop struggling to redeem himself from his rapid descent into scandal by trying to defend the indefensible. He joined a government that was already in turmoil and his entry into the Cabinet of Keith Rowley was like a dose of hot oil on an open flame, as he quickly demonstrated his ineptitude and inability to be the State’s legal representative.

Armour continues to be the shameless occupant of an office which he is unfit to hold and attempts to deflect from his numerous blunders by calling the opposition “obstructionists” – suggesting that the UNC has caused the government to fail so miserably in the area of national security.

Whilst he tries to label the Opposition as “obstructionist” the entire county is still laughing at his magic act involving the “sinister” disappearance and reappearance of a file which amounted to nothing more than poor management of the Ministry under the watch of another certified failure, Faris Al-Rawi.

The AG of “junior senior counsel” fame would do well to remember that the Bail Amendment Bill which he referenced in his contribution was defeated in the Senate by the combined vote of the opposition and independent bench.

Is he accusing the independent bench of also obstructing the PNM’s crime fight?

Instead of resorting to the PNM’s tired old mantra of “blame the opposition” after being in charge for 7 years, Armour should be using his parliamentary speaking time to say how he will address the issue of staffing at the Office of the DPP which has become so critical that the entire criminal justice system may grind to a halt.
He should be telling us how he intends to reform the operations of his Ministry to ensure that matters do not slip through the cracks resulting in the taxpayer having to fork out huge sums in damages by default because the matter is undefended before the Court.

The government’s promotion of bail restrictions as a solution to crime is simply a cheap public relations stunt meant to play upon the emotions of persons who live in fear because of the uncontrolled criminality which has erupted under the PNM’s watch.

Even with Opposition support for draconian legislation such as the Anti Gang Act, the PNM were unable to effectively use these legislative tools to bring down crime: yet they continue to ask the Opposition to support incursions on fundamental rights as though the Opposition’s role is to rubber stamp their failed legislative agenda and not seek to balance State power against the interests of citizens.

Crime is out of control because of PNM’s failed social policies, their failure to properly resource law enforcement agencies and to invest in modern crime detection methods which would raise conviction rates. Whilst they were sleeping on the job, guns and ammunition have been entering the country undetected because of non-functional scanners and criminals operate fearlessly because of non-functional CVTV cameras.

The population is not so easily fooled and for this reason the majority of country, regardless of party affiliation, view the AG as a repository of lame excuses and worn out rhetoric. His dramatic proclamation of sinister plots to cause files to disappear has provided the country with entertainment as the man on the street cannot help but be amused by how far the government will go to avoid taking responsibility.

Before accusing anyone of obstructing “crime solutions” the government should try proposing some actual solutions instead of trying to place tiny band aids over the large gaping wounds that are crime and the collapsing criminal justice system.

The only thing Armour has successfully done thus far as AG is to convince the population that he is perhaps better suited to be a note taker than an Attorney General

Senator Jayanti R Lutchmedial