The Government and Opposition yesterday agreed that the attack on crime has to be to dealt with at the Parliament level through 16 pieces of legislation.
This was revealed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at a news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, following a 90-minute meeting, with Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who headed a delegation comprising MPs Dr Roodal Moonilal, Ramona Ramdial and Opposition Senators Wade Mark and Gerald Hadeed.
The PM had Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, Minister in the Office of the PM Stuart Young, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene Mc Donald on his team.
Among the five items Government took to the table were legislative support, collaborative partnership in Parliament and administrative issues. The Opposition threw out legislative matters, administrative issues, civil society and public stakeholder relations, non-partisan parliamentary partnerships and a framework for continued co-operation.
But the PM warned afterwards that until both sides have a collaborative approach in Parliament, their meeting yesterday would come to nought and the criminals would continue with their rampage.
The PM said both sides also “agreed that the Parliamentary Committee, which currently exists with the Government, Opposition and Independents, meet in treating with legislation that can be used and must be used to prepare the ground for a common purpose before we get to the Parliament floor.”
He said this Parliamentary Committee, which comes in the form of a national security Joint Select Committee (JSC), will be now chaired by an independent senator to avoid any political acrimony to help move more effectively towards legislation.
“That committee is a place where the fight against crime, where the Opposition and the Government, can meet... and have meetings on what the country needs to do ... what legislation needs to be addressed, to be created and amended, where there are disagreements, and do that, behind closed doors before we come to the Parliament.”
Rowley said 16 pieces of legislation will now make their way to and through the Parliament, which may require 16 separate debates.
“What we are committing to is sharing more of that information with the Opposition and the country. So that this feeling that nothing is going on can really be addressed effectively,” he said.
“We agreed that the Government and Opposition sees eye-to-eye in carrying out certain aspects of the law, but that has not been done because there were one or two points of differences.”
The idea behind yesterday’s meeting, Rowley said, was to set the stage for future effective cooperation in responding to the protracted crime scourge which has been affecting the country for some time.
He said tackling and amending legislation that deals with gang warfare, gang activity and criminality through gangs was critical.
“What for me was most interesting and important, is that we have agreed to cooperate more effectively in the Parliament, because it is in the Parliament that the Opposition’s contributions to the Government’s effort can be best demonstrated. Until we get to the Parliament and sees what happens in the Parliament ...that behaviours in the Parliament, only then, we will know if we have made progress today.
“What happened here this morning is not a solution to anything. It is a commitment to go down a certain pathway. So the taste of the pudding will be the eating in the Parliament.”
CoP appointment
Rowley also spoke about the Police Service Commission’s attempts to appoint a new Commissioner of Police (CoP), but stated that there were obstacles in the way, which have been multiplying and frustrating the Government.
He said the whole question of the police’s ability to gather information has to become effective, while resources were required in Parliament and the office of the Leader of Opposition to ensure that legislation is brought quickly to Parliament.
“We have to ensure that the Parliamentary committees are properly staffed and available and that time is alloted both from the Parliament and Government’s point of view. That will require getting more technical people involved,” Rowley said.
The PM said both sides also concurred that the relationship among Parliamentarians must improve on mutual respect and responsibility.
“There is an agreement that we need to improve in that area. And all of this might be talk. The visit today might only be a sham. It’s only when we get to the Parliament and we effect the turning of the page that we will know if today has borne fruits.”
The PM also insisted that divisional police commanders and the office of the Commissioner of Police must become more communicative with the population, “otherwise cynicism will take root and probably become the order of the day.”
In appointing a new CoP, Rowley said one matter that came to the Cabinet from the Public Service was a reluctance to move forward “until the Government provides $6 million to allow a local firm to commit to evaluate the applications.”
He said only the Public Service department would justify why $6 million was needed “to apply for a job and have somebody evaluate the applications.”