Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, who has been appointed as chairman of government’s team of members to hold bipartisan talks with the Opposition, has written to Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to arrange the crime talks.
In a signed letter on Friday, Armour referred to an October 12th letter which the Prime Minister wrote to Persad-Bissessar about scheduling bipartisan crime talks immediately after the budget debate in Parliament.
In that letter, Dr Rowley proposed a five-member government team led by Armour to meet with a four-member opposition team to discuss several pieces of anti-crime legislation for passage in Parliament.
Rowley said the Government-Opposition teams will have the ability, by majority vote, “to co-opt the input of citizens by way of memoranda and/or consultation.”
Armour told Persad-Bissessar he was writing in his capacity as chairman of the government’s team.
He invited Persad-Bissessar to indicate the members of the Opposition’s team and said he hopes Persad-Bissessar would reply to his letter on or before November 9th.
“I take this opportunity to remind you (Persad-Bissessar) of the Government’s steadfast commitment to the safety and security of our nation’s citizens, underscoring the importance of constructive bipartisan dialogue.”
Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales and Tourism, Culture and the Arts Minister Randall Mitchell are the other members of the government team.