Opposition Leader: Crime, corruption not down according to AG

“Today (yesterday) we are told we have 58 murders, six unclassified deaths,” she said noting that as she spoke the funeral of young woman who was killed was taking place in her constituency.

Responding to Attorney General Faris Al Rawi’s contribution to the debate on the gaming and betting bill in November last year, Persad-Bissessar said, he boasted about crime patrols, border patrols and drug seizures.

“If we listened to him in November last year then we should have been seeing the crimes dropping (this year),” she said.

Recalling from the Hansard that Al Rawi said Government had put a dagger in the heart of corruption, she said, yet in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index for 2016, Trinidad and Tobago dropped by 29 places to 176, in one year. While Al Rawi also boasted on that occasion about putting an end to wastefulness of government spending and corruption, she said, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report revealed in September 2016, TT dropped from a ranking of 89 to 94 of countries ranked.

She noted some of the indicators such as public trust in politicians ranked TT 118 out of 138 countries; wastefulness of government spending was pegged at 107, compared to the previous year of 78; business cost of terrorism was 74; business cost of crime and violence 132; organised crime, 116; and reliability of police 126, when in the previous year it was 121.

In addition, she said, the Opposition has issues with respect to Government dealing with deadlines and proclamations of legislation. “The Attorney General always comes to this House with deadlines - we must pass this,” she said, but fails to act to have the bills proclaimed.

Since March last year, she said, the Attorney General came to the House with the SSA Bill to have it passed. “We passed that.

Almost one year later it is not proclaimed. The Children and Family Division Bill was passed in February last year. Not proclaimed,” she said.

Since November last, she said, the House of Representatives was assured that the regulations for the gaming and betting bill would have been drafted. It was still to be circulated, she noted.

Declaring that she does not share the Attorney General’s views that crime and criminality, corruption, waste and mismanagement have been dealt with, she said, “We cannot be happy.

How many more will die?”