National Security Ministry cannot solve all the problems

President GEORGE Maxwell Richards has said that while new strategies are needed to deal with crime,  the Ministry of National Security cannot  solve all the problems. He said the ministry was dealing with a system where the “end product” has gone awry. “It does no good to keep harping on the past and looking longingly on what it used to be. We need to find new strategies. Some will work and some will not. Let us not fool ourselves that the Ministry of National Security will solve all problems. They are dealing with the end product of a system that has gone awry,” Richards said. He was addressing an army of youths and military personnel on the 95th anniversary celebrations and inspection parade of the Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Saturday.

“How did we come to this sorry path?” the President asked. “Today there is grief in many homes and whole communities and among groups of people. In the news the lives of our youth seem to be expendable and of very little value. That cannot be the truth,” he added. He said it was logical, understandable and easy to ascribe blame to parents as some parents were  “partly children” themselves. He said that teachers were facing the wrath of parents and the terror of children as a result of indisciplined youths in the schools and admonished parents to educate children from birth. Early childhood, he said, should be given the highest priority to minimise difficulties that arise in the school system and throughout the education process.

He stressed the importance of support mechanisms such as the extended family of blood relatives and the community which served to buffer against the elements that lead children astray. President Richards’ address followed that of Commandant of the Cadet Force Col Eddison Isaac, who was granted an extension to lead the Cadet Force for another three years. The awards and medals were given to officers of the Cadet Force for best drill display; Elimination of Drill, best male and female; and for most distinguished in cadet duties. Richards praised the Cadet Force for its leadership role.