Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bisssessar said on Tuesday the election of the People’s Partnership has changed forever what everyone demands and expects from any government henceforth.
"And that in itself is a victory of the people," she said.
She was speaking at the Rienzi Complex at a mass rally to celebrate the second anniversary of her election as political leader of the United National Congress.
"Can you imagine Dr Rowley and the PNM has the audacity to criticize my Government on the issue of crime?
"They were the ones that feted the gang leaders and formed a sinister political partnership with them via the URP in exchange for political support.
"The murder rate skyrocketed as they unsuccessfully tried to dismount the back of the very tiger that they once fed and comfortably rode.
"They can say what they want about the State of Emergency; I know that we saved real lives. I know that you slept more peacefully at night.
"And I know that the 25% drop in the murder rate for 2011 could never have been achieved under the PNM."
"In the worse form of political hypocrisy, Dr Rowley yesterday (Monday) tried to dance his way out of the corner that he has painted himself into over their refusal to support the Death Penalty.
"Early last year we brought the Constitution (Amendment) ( Capital Offences) Bill 2011 which would have allowed the state to implement the Death Penalty no matter how long a convicted murderer took to exhaust his rights of appeal.
"This Bill sort to categorize murder and reserve the Death Penalty for most heinous and appalling of murders, while still allowing for some measure of flexibility in appropriate cases.
"They objected to that and we removed it from the Bill expecting their support, yet still they withheld it.
"They unashamedly voted against the implementation of the Death Penalty whilst hypocritically proclaiming they were not against it.
"The Death Penalty is the law of the land and this Government is committed to implementing it.
"After that debate in Parliament, I instructed the Attorney General, to write the Leader of the Opposition, to get their proposals so that we could return to the Parliament with a new Bill that can attract unanimous support.
"I have in possession a letter dated April 12th 2011 from the Attorney General to Dr Rowley inviting them to submit legislative proposals that can facilitate the implementation of the Death Penalty.
"There was no response to that letter so I instructed the Attorney General to write another letter.
"Knowing how they think, I asked the AG to ensure that some signed to acknowledge receipt of the letter at the office of the Leader of the Opposition.
"I have a copy of the page of the messenger book which shows that the second letter dated June 1 2011 was received by Office of the Leader of the Opposition and yet still to date we have not had the courtesy of a response.
"Does that honestly sound like someone who is interested in supporting the implementation of the Death Penalty?
"Today I publicly call upon Dr Rowley explain why he did not respond to those letters, and today I ask him once again: Let us have your proposals, because we are willing to consider them in the public interest.
"We are committed to implementing the Death Penalty because it is the law."
"And that in itself is a victory of the people," she said.
She was speaking at the Rienzi Complex at a mass rally to celebrate the second anniversary of her election as political leader of the United National Congress.
The UNC leader said she is proud to lead a government that is held to such high standards, adding that it "the right of every citizen to expect more of us."
She declared, "It is the duty of each member of our Cabinet and every member of all state boards to achieve levels of success unheard of before. It is our historic responsibility to deliver at every level."
She declared, "It is the duty of each member of our Cabinet and every member of all state boards to achieve levels of success unheard of before. It is our historic responsibility to deliver at every level."
She spoke specifically about crime, which was the cornerstone of the People's Partnership election campaign and said Keith Rowley and the opposition People's National Movement (PNM) have no moral authority to criticise her government's record in dealing with crime.
"Can you imagine Dr Rowley and the PNM has the audacity to criticize my Government on the issue of crime?
"They were the ones that feted the gang leaders and formed a sinister political partnership with them via the URP in exchange for political support.
"The murder rate skyrocketed as they unsuccessfully tried to dismount the back of the very tiger that they once fed and comfortably rode.
"They can say what they want about the State of Emergency; I know that we saved real lives. I know that you slept more peacefully at night.
"And I know that the 25% drop in the murder rate for 2011 could never have been achieved under the PNM."
She also slammed the PNM leader for telling reporters that he won't support a bill to hang convicted killers.
"In the worse form of political hypocrisy, Dr Rowley yesterday (Monday) tried to dance his way out of the corner that he has painted himself into over their refusal to support the Death Penalty.
"Early last year we brought the Constitution (Amendment) ( Capital Offences) Bill 2011 which would have allowed the state to implement the Death Penalty no matter how long a convicted murderer took to exhaust his rights of appeal.
"This Bill sort to categorize murder and reserve the Death Penalty for most heinous and appalling of murders, while still allowing for some measure of flexibility in appropriate cases.
"They objected to that and we removed it from the Bill expecting their support, yet still they withheld it.
"They unashamedly voted against the implementation of the Death Penalty whilst hypocritically proclaiming they were not against it.
"The Death Penalty is the law of the land and this Government is committed to implementing it.
"After that debate in Parliament, I instructed the Attorney General, to write the Leader of the Opposition, to get their proposals so that we could return to the Parliament with a new Bill that can attract unanimous support.
"I have in possession a letter dated April 12th 2011 from the Attorney General to Dr Rowley inviting them to submit legislative proposals that can facilitate the implementation of the Death Penalty.
"There was no response to that letter so I instructed the Attorney General to write another letter.
"Knowing how they think, I asked the AG to ensure that some signed to acknowledge receipt of the letter at the office of the Leader of the Opposition.
"I have a copy of the page of the messenger book which shows that the second letter dated June 1 2011 was received by Office of the Leader of the Opposition and yet still to date we have not had the courtesy of a response.
"Does that honestly sound like someone who is interested in supporting the implementation of the Death Penalty?
"Today I publicly call upon Dr Rowley explain why he did not respond to those letters, and today I ask him once again: Let us have your proposals, because we are willing to consider them in the public interest.
"We are committed to implementing the Death Penalty because it is the law."
CRIME STATISTICS
Persad Bissessar also provided statistics to show a significant decrease ion crime since her government assumed office.
"When they ask you what has the government done for crime ask them if a 25% reduction in serious crime, the largest drop in over six years isn’t a good start," she said.
She noted that in 2009 under the PNM Government, the number of murders was 507. In 2010, the number went down to 473 with the new government in place for just over half of the year. In 2011, the number of reported murders was 352.
"That is a drop of 30 per cent under the PNM compared to under the People’s partnership," she said.
She gave other figures:
She noted that in 2009 under the PNM Government, the number of murders was 507. In 2010, the number went down to 473 with the new government in place for just over half of the year. In 2011, the number of reported murders was 352.
"That is a drop of 30 per cent under the PNM compared to under the People’s partnership," she said.
She gave other figures:
- Woundings and shootings from 689 in 2009, fell to 616 in 2010, and then again to 535 in 2011, a drop of 22% over the period
- Burglaries and Break-ins fell from 5765 in 2009 to 5256 in 2010, and then to 4221 last year an overall drop of 26 percent
- Narcotic offences fell by 12 percent between 2009 and 2011
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