(Trinidad Guardian) – Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says his decision to accept the Police Service Commission’s choice of Gary Griffith as the best option for Police Commissioner was the biggest mistake he has made in his life.
Speaking during a People’s National Movement meeting in Belmont on Tuesday night, Rowley said his decision then was based on his belief that he should allow appointments of the best people the country had to offer for various roles, regardless of their political affiliations. This, he said, saw the appointments of former UNC ministers in various other roles.
However, on the appointment of Griffith, he said, “And that is why when the (Police Service) Commission said that Gary Griffith was the best person for the job as commissioner of police, I take responsibility for giving him a chance and ladies and gentlemen, that is the biggest mistake I have ever made.”
Noting that an audit of the Firearms Department of the T&T Police Service had just been completed, he said it makes “very, very troublesome reading.”
He also slammed Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for refusing to reprimand Senator Anil Roberts for his recent attempt to scandalise and disgrace his wife, Sharon.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I must say it is painful to watch a female Opposition Leader tolerate and encourage that on the grounds that ‘leave me out ah all yuh bacchanal’ … that is the same leader, same leader, who went in the Parliament with Vernella Alleyne and Wade Mark and Moonilal and put on the Hansard that I’m a rapist. Bring a picture of a house inside the Parliament you know, blow up a house and come and tell the Parliament in this house the Opposition Leader rape somebody. After that, I don’t expect anything from Kamla Persad-Bissessar more than the worst. So, when Anil Roberts prepares videos and tried to scandalise my wife, all I could tell Anil, I could take ah horn if ah get one, I ent sending nobody to kill nobody.”
Earlier in his address, Rowley also said he’ll be instructing the Finance Minister to put into the upcoming 2023 Budget a separate and special payment for every member of the Ministry of Health for their efforts during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said he hadn’t told Finance Minister Colm Imbert yet but said one had to understand what it means to be in a position where death is the outcome and yet people buckled down and stayed in rooms where the disease was to fight for the people.
He said he was brooking no objection from anyone on the payment.
“We’re going to do it as we can afford to,” Rowley said.
Rowley said it wasn’t to say Government didn’t recognise what others did but those who walked the extra mile rose to the occasion and the health services were there for the people.
“And we must be a grateful people,” he said.
He said he expected objections about that and people saying, “Me too.”
“But I’ll say I hear you and understand you, but you were not there doing what they were doing,” he added, citing health sector personnel who stood in the breach for T&T.
He lauded Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram for leading the health team.
“Cometh the man and cometh the hour. I don’t know what T&T would have done in this pandemic without Roshan Parasram, who led the Ministry of Health team…”
While Rowley admitted the crime situation is unacceptable, he stood by National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds. He spoke after Hinds and Energy Minister Stuart Young spoke, giving accounts of issues in their respective portfolios.
Rowley said, “I congratulate my colleague, Minister Hinds, who gave you that synopsis of what we’re doing in the many areas of national security and I congratulate Minister Young for his summary, much information that’s new to you.”
He said nobody can say that T&T didn’t have an unacceptable level of criminal conduct and violent crime, some approaching senselessness. But he questioned how that would change if the National Security Minister was changed.
“If that was so, it would have changed under the PP government as they had six National Security Ministers, plus a state of emergency, SOE,” he said.
He said T&T had a National Security Minister giving the details of what is being done on the issue, adding the crime problem was not unique to this country and noting that T&T, Jamaica and St Vincent were all buckling down to fight the issue, yet the Opposition Leader, “who has nothing to offer,” says there is “blood on the Prime Minister’s hands and Hinds must go.”