PM: War on white collar crime a national imperative

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Sunday promised war on white collar crime and corruption, declaring that this was not personal nor political, but a “national imperative too long in coming.”

Speaking at the People’s National Movement’s 48th National Convention at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, Rowley said his goal was a complete turnaround to this state of affairs which he declared had already begun and which would pick up momentum towards a secure and good future.

“There is one way to change a country… to create a new one. For too long, justice did not play within corruption standards. We ned to walk this country back to one where politics is a noble calling, public service is not viewed as a get rich scheme and winning a contract from the state is the surest way of collecting more than you worked for.

“This Government is doing the right things for the right reasons in a balanced and measured way…in the public interest,” he said.

He blamed the former People’s Partnership government, led by now Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, for Petrotrin’s closure, claiming that “fear of losing office caused them to hide five years of billions of dollars in Petrotrin’s books.” He also claimed the former Government spent billions in dollars, citing the Green Fund, a National Gas Company account and FCB.

He pointed to re-tendering of various projects by the PNM Government which he said had resulted in substantial savings, citing the Churchill Roosevelt Highway to Manzanilla phase 1, from Cumuto to Toco, the Curepe Flyover and the national road paving programmes.

Rowley also spoke about cybercrime, referencing a 2011 incident involving Janice Thomas, “some fictitious person who was managing an arrangement of students who were paid to do blogging and cyberspace activity for the ruling party.”

“The same Janice Thomas, whoever that was, sent a threatening message to a newspaper editor and reporter and thus the real identity of Janice Thomas was revealed. that’s how we knew what was going on in UWI… she turned out to be the close friend of one of the last Government’s most obnoxious ministers.

“That was the beginning of the play of misinformation, racial division and an academic of fake news, which we find ourselves facing on a daily basis today from the same person using instruments that you use every day, your smartphone,” he said.

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"PM: War on white collar crime a national imperative"

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