UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has revealed some of her party’s manifesto plans.
She said the draft manifesto and the first copy will be unveiled online later.
Speaking at the party’s Monday Night Report at its Chaguanas headquarters last night, she said her Government will consider introducing a system of monetary rewards for police officers and divisions where crime is kept low.
She said the party, once re-elected, will ensure that there is no property tax or increases in water and electricity rates in this dire economic climate.
Persad-Bissessar said, “We’re out front, we’re ready for this general election whenever it’s called … Put some steel in your backbone – this election will not be easy. This is the mother of all elections for us.”
She said, “Government would better serve people by focusing on the ‘Boats of Arms’ and ammunition arriving freely which created an unprecedented crime wave.”
“We’re eight months into 2024, and already, the murder rate as of (Sunday) is over 400! Every national security minister and commissioner of police appointed by the PNM in the last nine years has failed,” she said.
She added, “The only things that caused a slowdown in crime were COVID-19 and the lockdowns. During COVID, we saw two-tier policing where the eat-a-food fake elites and Government’s friends were allowed by the police to have pool parties and weddings. Average citizens were harassed, terrorised, fined, and ticketed for being in their private cars with family members or having a family get-together at home. The Government and police used COVID lockdowns to suppress dissent and any protests but they allowed high friends, family, and financiers to have events.”
She said, “For the last nine years, there’s been an out-of-control crime spree because they have no plan or policy, only arrogance, and interference in selection of a CoP…
“During Griffith’s time, we had 2018 (523 murders), 2019 (539 murders), 2020 (COVID’s many months of lockdowns, 396 murders), 2021 (448 murders) – 1,906 murders spanning the years 2018 to 2021 under Griffith. The PNM interfered and put the fourth-ranked person.
“Then they interfered to intercept the merit list to kick out Griffith. They handpicked McDonald Jacob (2022 – 613 murders). Then they chose Erla (2023 – 577 murders; eight months in 2024, over 400 murders). We’ve had almost 4,500 murders under this Government!”
She said crime, criminality and gang warfare had now created a new type of tourism, where foreign YouTube influencers come to “exploit the suffering of our crime situation.”
Persad-Bissessar said the criminal and civil justice system was in a mess and she believes that one way to fix it, is via a separate Justice Ministry, which she already had under her PP administration.
Some of the UNC’s plans for the criminal justice system include:
-A review of all criminal laws to weed out obsolete ones that are oppressive to a free democratic society or cause unnecessary bureaucracy;
-Categorise the offences of murder and rape into first-degree and second-degree murder.
-Place victims at the centre of the criminal justice system from the beginning: providing support, including restitution, job placements, housing and social programmes. Due to current low detection and conviction rate, support will be given regardless of if someone is caught/convicted.
-Consider introducing monetary rewards for police officers and divisions where crime is kept low and crime-fighting targets are met to motivate them.
-Provide needed resources to ensure that cases involving offences against children and sexual offences are determined rapidly.
-Raise the legal age for marijuana use and gambling to 25 years and older.
-Provide more courtrooms in highly populated areas outside the capital
-Modernise prisons and break up large prisons into smaller ones for better inmate monitoring.
-Establish lower security prisons for first-time non-violent offenders who can get daytime work release.
-Implement appropriate social programmes involving training, life skills to prevent recidivism.
-Comprehensively reform/reorient the education system to cater to all children, not just academically gifted ones, and particularly, to identify young persons with learning disabilities/ vulnerabilities so they can be guided to productive activities. Most criminals have not been successful in the education system.
-Resources for the DPP’s and Public Defender’s offices ensuring better conditions/salaries.
She also intends to place police officers to patrol inside schools to protect children; lower taxes, lower fuel prices, consider reopening the Petrotrin refinery and no VAT on 7,000 food items; reopen GATE and once again offer free laptops for secondary school children and tablets for primary school children.
The Opposition leader also laid out her intent to conduct a comprehensive audit of HDC applications – contacting and seeing all who still need housing, prioritising those with long-standing applications; Land for the Landless policy.