Talk is cheap, Prime Minister

THE EDITOR: After reaching the highest murder rate in TT’s history last year (606 murders), and five people being killed on New Year’s Day, Prime Minister Rowley wants to "talk" to the public about crime.

He does not want to replace Fitzgerald Hinds with someone better suited for the position of Minister of National Security, nor does he want to present the country with a comprehensive crime plan. After seven long years of leading the Government and the National Security Council, he wants to "talk."

It is a fact that the Opposition UNC has repeatedly presented a strategic crime-fighting plan in and out of the Parliament, which has been completely ignored by the Rowley Government.

It is also a fact that murder and other serious crimes declined under the UNC administrations led by Basdeo Panday and Kamla Persad-Bissessar. This decline can be attributed to the effectiveness of the policies they implemented, and the personnel they had chosen to lead the fight against crime.

But fear not. Prime Minister Rowley does not need to appoint effective personnel to lead the national security effort, nor does he need to evaluate his crime-fighting policies and plan. He will hold public talks, and that will certainly help the rampant crime situation. We the members of the public feel better already.

LEISHA S DHORAY

via e-mail