Speaker turns down Opposition Leader’s motion on crime
The Speaker of the House of Representatives today turned down a matter on the adjournment of the sitting brought by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, SC, MP to discuss the Government’s failure to deal with the high levels of serious and violent crime.
The Opposition Leader, in raising the matter on the adjournment of the sitting to discuss the issue as a definite matter of urgent public importance, noted that escalating levels of serious crime continues to grip the nation, and citizens are feeling unsafe.
“It is disappointing that the Opposition was not given the opportunity to raise this pertinent matter in the House today,” Mrs. Persad-Bissessar said. “Crime and safety remain the number one concern of citizens in our nation, yet it was deemed not urgent for discussion.”
“The Opposition will continue to listen to the concerns and cries of the people, as we develop solutions to this pressing problem which we will implement upon our return to office,” the Opposition Leader stated.
The text of the motion is outlined below:
The matter is definite as it pertains specifically to the continued levels of serious crime that has become almost an institution under this Government with at least thirty-seven (37) persons murdered in just twenty-seven (27) days of the first month of 2020, with the total number of murders exceeding two thousand and fifty (2050) over the past four years.
The matter is urgent because this Government has failed to make good on its 2015 promise to the people of Trinidad and Tobago to address what they themselves recognized as “the most serious problem affecting our citizens today”. The matter is also urgent because not only has the Government absolutely failed to win the war against crime, they have abdicated their responsibility to the country by asking not to be judged on their failure.
The matter is of public importance because the Government continues to be out of touch with reality on this most burning national issue of crime by the National Security Minister’s claim that the country is not in crisis, and because of which, no one in Trinidad and Tobago feels safe and no one is safe.