Opposition tells Rowley: Fire Hinds, take over his ministry

HOURS after residents in Port of Spain engaged in fiery protests on Monday, accusing the police of extra-judicially killing a man and two teenage boys on Saturday morning, the Opposition called on the Prime Minister to fire National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds and take up the job himself.

The Opposition is also questioning why there has been no statement from Dr Rowley, who is attending the 43rd Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom in Suriname, or acting PM Colm Imbert on the issue.

At the UNC Virtual Forum on Monday evening, Naparima MP Rodney Charles said: “I call on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, as head of the National Security Council, and ultimate guarantor of our safety and security, to immediately fire the incompetent non-performing, inept and clueless Fitzgerald Ethelbert Hinds, and the PM should take over that portfolio immediately.

“You cannot take a serious national crisis where crime, murder and mayhem are the order of the day and put it in the hands of a proven novice.”

He said Rowley seems afraid to assume that portfolio because he too is clueless on how to deal with crime, beyond a call to make it a public health emergency or bring to Parliament an “unconstitutional” bail bill.

“With some 18 murders over the weekend, 275 killings to date for the year, eight murders alone on July 2, and TT about to record close to 600 murders for 2022, we are on a dangerous downward spiral. We are becoming a failed state. Rowley’s government has pre-collapsed in office.

“We are reportedly the sixth most murderous country in the entire world. Will you, Rowley, fire Hinds when we reach number one? When our annual murder rate reaches 1,000? When the Beetham riots today (Monday) become the norm throughout TT? When we have more murders per capita than Ukraine, Afghanistan or Iraq?”

Recalling an interview on television, “in which Hinds declared his job as Minister of National Security was not to make citizens feel safe,” Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein repeated the call for Hinds to be removed.

“Tonight, on this platform, we are calling for Minister Hinds to go. You are totally incompetent. You have failed to protect the citizens of TT. Crime is out of hand. Just a few hours ago TT witnessed mayhem. The city of Port of Spain was in crisis and where was the PM? He is abroad in Suriname. Where is the acting Prime Minister? Not a word.”

From the same platform, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said if she was the PM, after witnessing the shocking and terrifying scenes in Port of Spain, she would have returned home.

She commended law-enforcement officers who were on the frontline to maintain law and order, but condemned Hinds who is MP for one of the protesting communities.

“Where was Hinds during this chaos?

“He was hiding. He told reporters he was in the command centre. Doing what? Commanding what? You commanding and one of the communities rioting was yours. It took another minister who is now in charge of cutting bush and all such nice things, putting out fires, outing burning tyres. Where was Mr Hinds?”

She concurred with calls from the Prison Officers Association for Hinds to go.

“You are the most incompetent minister of national security. Never thought we could get somebody more incompetent than a fella called Dillon (Retired Brig Edmund Dillon, former national security minister). Didn’t think we could get worse until incompetent Fitzgerald Hinds. Fitzy step down.”

Persad-Bissessar also condemned how the protesters chose to air their grievances on Monday.

“What happened today was complete lawlessness and mayhem. Let us not be proud of that. We could never be proud of lawlessness. Yes you stand up for your rights, but there are lawful ways so to do.”

She also commended social media users for highlighting the happenings in Port of Spain, or else the rest of the country would have been none the wiser.