THE EDITOR: The local government elections (LGE) are over, so let’s get back to murder and mayhem under the mismanagement of this government.
As usual under the Minister of National Security and the Commissioner of Police (CoP), the murder toll is on track to overtake last year’s all-time-high number. As of August it is set to cross 700 for 2023, surpassing last year’s 614 violent deaths.
With the rising murders TT now holds the sixth highest crime rate in the world.
TT was once the richest country in the Caribbean, but over the past eight years it has been mismanaged with the destruction of our oil wealth and energy resources, and dragged down by corruption, the drug trade and increase in gun crimes and violence, all under this government.
Photos of people lying in pools of blood appear on social media regularly. Headlines of shootings are the norm. Crime has seeped into every aspect of our lives like an epidemic and its reduction and prevention should be targeted now because it’s a national emergency.
Murderous home invasions have increased dramatically and now more and more citizens face robberies at gunpoint. One headline stated that there have been “over 2000 robberies in the first seven months” of this year. And we seem to have become numb to the bloody corpses lying in the streets.
The LGE results should have sent a message to the PNM that its future is not secured and its performance appraisal is not good. Nothing is going right for the Dr Rowley-led Government: the oil industry is declining rapidly, infrastructure is not being maintained, water woes are widespread, food prices continue to sky-rocket, crippling inflation has families suffering, and, of course, crime is high – as is unemployment. Does Rowley believe he can maintain the status quo with all these problems?
Even our national airline is facing problems. Recently 73 pilots called in sick in an effort to get the airline to take notice of their wages not being addressed since 2015. No wage increase since 2015, but between then and now the cost of living has probably quadrupled.
I feel for all the passengers who suffered and I cannot understand why pilots are being treated like this when they have families like everyone else to take care of and they have our lives in their hands when they fly the planes.
I certainly hope the airline puts something in place to address the concerns of the pilots, and to ensure that passengers are not affected in the future like they were recently.
The crime crisis is out of hand and with this year’s murder rate set to overtake last year’s, I call on the Government to please get rid of the out-of-touch National Security Minister and the non-performing CoP as well. The whole country will breathe a sigh of relief if this is done urgently.
I certainly hope the people realise that elections have consequences and when the next one comes around again they stain their fingers for real change – for a party that can better manage the country properly.
DR NEIL GOSINE
UNC treasurer
The post Yes, cri
