Government’s crime plans attacked

FORMER Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj slammed the Government’s new crime fighting unit initiative yesterday.

He was addressing the gathering of former Caroni workers and farmers at Presentation College, San Fernando. Maharaj said the soon to be implemented system is really a system to undermine the existing police service along with Acting Commissioner of Police, Everald Snaggs. Maharaj compared the system to that of Zimbabwe, Africa, where the Government at the time issued a similar system which eventually overpowered all the traditional laws and instead of solving problems caused total corruption and chaos.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Patrick Manning in his presentation of the 2003-2004 budget announced a new crime fighting unit to be headed by Brigadier Peter Joseph. The unit is intended to combat major crime. The unit is expected to draw persons from the police force, defence force, fire service and even some civilians. The unit is expected to materialise as soon as next month. Maharaj also said “because corruption is at the highest level, the criminals are now the ones taking over the country, the Government no longer has the say in the running of the country, Trinidad and Tobago is becoming more and more like Jamaica,” he added. “Jamaica is managed through criminals and the Govern-ment can’t do anything to stop it, it is the same in this country.”