PM: Police Bills soon

The bills – The Police Service Bill, Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2006 and the Police Complaints Authority Bill, 2006 – were passed with Opposition support by both Houses of Parliament last March (2006) and assented to in April (2006).

Manning yesterday replied to a charge by Chaguanas MP Manohar Ramsaran in the House of Representatives that the Government has not used the Bills to cut serious crimes like murder.

Manning said, “The regulations, that are an essential part of the legislative package to give effect to that legislation, are in their final stages of determination and should be before the Parliament very shortly, which will now put us in a position to be able to act under those bills.”

Manning said the legislative process is not yet complete and that Ramsaran knew it. Ramsaran thanked Manning for his clarification but did not recall Manning ever before giving such an assurance. “I am happy to hear it now, and maybe the community will thank me for you getting up and explaining,” he said.

He pondered the status of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and accused Manning of not caring about the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

Ramsaran said three workers were burnt on Thursday at an explosion in Point Lisas. As the Government MPs shook their heads in doubt over the incident, Ramsaran reasserted, “Yes there was. One person is badly burnt, and two people not so badly burnt.”