Charles: Stuart is OJT minister

STUART Young will be an on-the-job-training (OJT) minister of national security with no known experience in that field, argued Naparima MP Rodney Charles in a statement yesterday.

Saying Young has no experience in management nor national security, Charles said the Prime Minister has no plan to deal with crime and is now wasting time.

"Everybody better ‘brakes’ for himself. Rowley does not know what he is doing about crime. He is a leader without a plan and operating by ‘vaps.’"

Charles urged Dr Keith Rowley to say on what rational basis he has named the relatively inexperienced Young to give strategic guidance, leadership and management to the ministry’s 20,000 employees in the hope of curbing the high murder rate. Charles said Young was appointed like a thief in the night.

With Young also a minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and Minister of Communications, Charles asked, “Where will he find time to address the needs of three portfolios? Or are his Communications and National Security portfolios essentially one ministry about old talk?” Charles wondered if Young has a level head or even common sense, basic qualifications for ministerial appointments.

He asked whether Young as a relatively new minister could cope with the many challenges bedevilling the TT Police Service such as its huge overtime bill, as recently unearthed in the TTPS Manpower Audit.

“Could PM Rowley tell us of any successes Minister Young has delivered to date to give us any comfort that he has what it takes to address the plethora of very urgent challenges affecting the war on crime; in the Prisons Service; in Immigration; in the TT Coast Guard; in the TT Defence Force; and in the various organisations like the MILAT, MYPART, the Civilian Conservation Corporation, Cadets and in Customs?”

Charles alleged the Government is still in rehearsal mode, thinking up solutions as it goes along hoping that something will work or that it can fool the people for a further six months.

“One day the process flawed. The next day the process is acceptable,” he said likely referring to the Police Commissioner selection process.

Charles alleged Minister Young has failed as a performer. “We are at a loss to identify even one major achievement that has led to the improvement in our quality of life.

“He is a smooth talker and for that he may be suited to the Minister of Communications to continually hoodwink the population into believing that our life is improving and serious crime is down.

“But our challenges in National Security are not amenable to old talk, friendship with the PM and youthful exuberance uninformed by practised wisdom. It requires mature judgement, vast experience in management eventually leading to cold, clinical performance improvements.”

Charles said while people live in fear of crime and the criminals, Rowley continues to think up strategies and actions to delude the people and assuage our concerns but make us no safer.

“The Opposition will look not at the various unproductive PR measures adopted by this Government to deal with crime. We will continue to have a laser-like focus on their outputs - like reduced response times, improved detection rates, a highly motivated TTPS and significant reductions in murders. We wish Minister Young well but we remain unimpressed by his appointment.”