Party supporters to blame for crime rise

THE EDITOR: There is a political party that is alleged to only know how to rape the treasury. There is another that has no understanding of the suffering the average person goes through daily. However, one thing they both have in common is having slept and continuing to sleep with the devil for their own political gains.

We citizens tend to have tunnel vision, depending on which political party we support. It was the UNC that in 1999 allowed the late Sean “Bill” Francis, a notorious gangleader, to contest the local government elections on a UNC ticket for the San Juan/Caledonia seat.

I will never forget when in 2002 the prime minster at the time, the late Patrick Manning, extended an olive branch to a bunch of so-called community leaders to join him at the then Crowne Plaza for peace talks. Rumour has it this was the beginning of openly giving government contracts to questionable individuals.

Apart from the Sport for Life fiasco, which enriched plenty notorious individuals, in 2012 a contract to build the new Desperadoes panyard in Laventille was sub-contracted to another individual. Where is Desperadoes today? And what is going on with this complex? This should be a national tragedy and shame – again wasted money.

Then in 2015 we had the PNM continuing to give government contracts to questionable individuals. It was recently reported that contracts are being facilitated through the regional corporations.

For approximately 20 years, governments, regardless of party in power, have awarded contracts worth millions of dollars to notorious individuals all over this country to build this and build that. A large number of these structures end up being inferior and unusable because these individuals lacked basic knowledge of anything structural.

The country’s wasted money provided guns and more guns for these notorious individuals. Then we act shocked that daylight shootouts occur, that criminals have bigger guns than the police.

More importantly, party supporters are shocked when they themselves become victims of crime. This is what happens when you allow those you support blindly to sleep with the devil – the devil in turn bites you.

This blind allegiance of the supporters of the two political parties and not holding their leaders accountable is the downfall of TT.

So I hope both the PNM and UNC supporters understand they are to blame for the escalating murder, mayhem and bloodshed.

KELLI COOMBS

via e-mail