Panday: Money won’t solve crime

OPPOSITION LEADER Basdeo Panday yesterday said flinging money at crime will not solve it, and he hoped that this is not what Government has in mind when the 2004/2005 Budget is delivered next month. Government sources earlier indicated that Budget Day was being slated for September 6, and Prime Minister Patrick Manning will present a $22 billion package in Parliament. However, other Government sources subsequently disclosed the Budget would be delivered in mid-September with the main beneficiaries being the Ministries of National Security, Health, Education and Science and Tertiary Education. In a recent address to the nation, the Prime Minister said he had instructed National Security Minister Martin Joseph to “revise his budget to assist the new Commissioner of Police, who is now paying special attention to certain hot-spots which require constant attention.”

Manning also reiterated Government’s commitment to provide the security forces with all the required technology they need to win the war against crime. Panday said the Opposition had no idea when Budget Day would be, but Government’s success in the war against crime could not be measured by the amount of money which it hurled at the problem. Panday said this was a common mistake committed by the PNM, but the Opposition would adopt a wait-and-see approach where the upcoming Budget was concerned. St Augustine MP Winston Dookeran said while there was an urgency to increase spending on the National Security Ministry (and particularly in the areas of intelligence and management) given the crime situation in TT, he hoped this would not be done at the expense of other areas of the economy.

Dookeran also claimed that Government continued to pay scant attention to the manufacturing and non-oil sectors of the economy and pumping new monies into old systems would not benefit anyone. Referring to the health sector, Dookeran said the sector continues to be public-sector oriented at the micro-level, and this is hindering its ability to perform efficiently. He advised Government to marry public and private sector systems for ministries and other Government bodies to achieve optimum efficiency. He could not say why Government would reportedly contemplate a $22 billion Budget because he did not know what oil price the upcoming Budget would be pegged against. Dookeran said although international oil prices are projected to remain at US$40 per barrel over the next six months, Government was likely to use a lower price in fashioning the 2004/2005 Budget.