CoP yet to receive Colm’s $20m

Finance Minister Colm Imbert
Finance Minister Colm Imbert

UPDATE:

HOURS after Finance Minister Colm Imbert issued a press release on Sunday night claiming that a $20 million release was made to the Police Service, Commissioner Gary Griffith responded: “If and when releases are made the monies will be spent effectively.”

Imbert’s release said Griffith had requested $80 million in funding for goods and services for the police in a letter last month. He said to date, $20 million has been released for “equipment, services and supplies.”

Imbert also said in the next two weeks a further $20 million is scheduled to be released, and the balance of $40 million will be paid next month.

However, sources said there have been no releases to the police financial branch to meet several expenses. These include paying for weapons such as Tasers and pepper spray, recently advanced by Griffith as a non-lethal alternative to firearm use. A Newsday reporter asked Imbert yesterday to clarify the dates of disbursements. His response was; “Are you still working for the Newsday?” When the reporter responded in the affirmative, he read the message but did not respond further.

Sources close to Griffith said despite Imbert’s claim that $20 million had been released, up until yesterday the money had not reached the account over which the CoP has direct control.
The source said Griffith remained baffled over the inability of the ministry to provide funding and has been asking his officers to exercise restraint and patience as they wait. The source also asked what $20 million Imbert is referring to, as the CoP’s account is empty and the police have no money for goods and services.

In the 2018/2019 fiscal package Griffith was promised a budget of over $285,980.100 to run the police service.

Sources at the Finance Branch said they too want Imbert to explain why his $20 million release has not reached the police. One said, “Maybe the minister signed off on the release and it is probably stuck somewhere and had not reached the police service, so we are asking him to intervene and find out where the release is and why the police service has not yet benefited from it.”

Newsday also spoke with officers from the Mounted and K-9 branches who said they had applied for money for food for the animals but are still awaiting word from the Finance Branch.
Officers who have applied for medical grants have been told there are no funds for them.
Newsday contacted secretary of the Police Social and Welfare Association Anand Ramesar, who said the situation has reached a crisis.

He said, “The Minister of National Security and the commissioner need to provide an explanation as to why police officers who need funding for medical treatment are not being funded in a timely manner, which is resulting in unwarranted and unfortunate suffering, due to untimely provision of the funding. As far as the association and its members are concerned, delay in funding is no funding, and cannot be justified in any context when police officers are suffering from diseases and ailments incurred as a result of the job.”

Ramesar said given the release from the Minister of Finance, the association was asking the CoP whether the allocation is meeting the needs of the police service.

“As it is,” he said, “policemen and women, police dogs and horses, are suffering from the inability of the finances to meet their needs on a timely basis.”

He said gas station owners and other service providers need an explanation too.

Ramesar pointed out that police officers “are held accountable when their conduct does not meet basic standards,” but their responsibilities under police regulations were ironic at present “when compared with the failure of the organisation to meet its responsibilities with its external service providers.”

Newsday learnt that the police service also owes TSTT a considerable amount of money and in some instances, TSTT has made numerous requests for payment without success.

Minister of National Security Stuart Young has said efforts are being made to address the financial woes of the police, telling Newsday, “I have communicated with both the Commissioner of Police Mr Griffith and Minister of Finance Mr Imbert on the issue of releases for the TTPS.”

A Ministry of National Security source said the reason why the $20 million release has not reached the CoP is because some paperwork may not have been done.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Hours after Finance Minister Colm Imbert issued a press release on Sunday night claiming that a $20 million release was made to the Police Service, Commissioner Gary Griffith responded that:“If and when releases are made the monies will be spent effectively.”

Imbert's release said Griffith had requested $80 million in funding for goods and services for the police in a letter last month. He said to date, $20 million has been released for “equipment, services and supplies.”

Imbert also said in the next two weeks a further $20 million is scheduled to be released, and the balance of $40 million will be paid next month.

However, sources said there have been no releases to the police financial branch to meet several expenses. These include paying for weapons such as Tasers and pepper spray, recently advanced by Griffith as a non-lethal alternative to firearm use.

Sources close to Griffith said despite Imbert's claim that $20 million had been released, up until yesterday the money had not reached the account over which the CoP has direct control.

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