Paula Lindo
UNC MP Rodney Charles said the Opposition will not be supporting any legislation, such as the Anti-Gang Bill, which requires a three-fifths majority, unless the PNM administration operationalises the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act 1 of 2015.
Speaking at a media conference held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition on Sunday, Charles said,
“The UNC will not support any legislation which requires a three-fifths majority unless the PNM administration fully operationalises the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act 1 of 2015. This is the most critical piece of legislation to reduce corruption, to improve our standing in the global corruption perception index, make the fight against white-collar crime more effective, and confront the prevalence of gangs in our country, and the associated challenges, guns, ammunition, drugs, and human trafficking. So don’t waste Parliamentary time by bringing ineffective legislation that has not delivered a single conviction of a gang member in 30 months.”
He said if the PNM had come to Parliament with 30 convictions related to the Anti-Gang Act, no-one would be against it as once there is hard data, the UNC would be constrained to support the bill.
Opposition Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial said there were four measures the Opposition could take in tackling crime instead of using the sunset clause in the Anti-Gang bill. These included a review of educational expenditure, as studies showed when educational opportunities were cut, there was an automatic increase in crime and education was a pathway to the reduction of povery; better and faster assistance mechanisms put in place for people on the breadline due to government policies, such as the closure of Petrotrin; the bringing of procurement legislation so criminal activity is not funded and corruption can be tackled; and, increasing the security of TT’s borders, so as to stop or slow the importation of drugs and guns.
Opposition Chief Whip David Lee said, as stated in an interview with the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Newsday on Sunday, gang cases are not in jeopardy and people can still be charged if they are in a gang. Lee said the legislation had not collapsed, except for the sunset clause, and there were other laws under which people could be charged. He challenged the government to show where the legislation, which had been in place since 2018, had been effective in reducing gang activities.
“The statistics the AG mentioned in the Parliament on Friday we would have gotten from the TTPS website. The offences under the Anti-Gang act, if you look at gang activity, the last 30 months, it’s zero in 2018, zero in 2019, zero in 2020. So the government asked for this piece of legislation, we gave it to them, as we have given them all major three-fifths legislation, such as the FATCA Act and Insurance Act, and it’s not true the narrative the government is pushing that we are opposing for opposing’s sake. We are making sure your rights under the Constitution are not being eroded.”
Lee also called on government to provide the TTPS with the funding and resources needed to fight crime. He assured the Commissioner of Police that the Opposition was not playing petty politics.
“We understand the role the Commissioner has to perform. We understand he is looking for all the tools in his arsenal to be able to fight crime, and that is fine. The Opposition has a role to perform, we have taken an oath in office to the people of TT. He should try to understand the Opposition’s role in its entirety, we are here as a watchdog.”
