Martin Joseph - WE HAVE FAILED

Now before I get into the article let me just say that this man they call Martin Joseph has a certain knack for stating the obvious. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out Martin. You have been failing now for the past 4 years as Minister of National Security that I believe you have now earned the title "MINISTER OF NATIONAL IN-security". All this time it took you to figure out that you were incompetent costed us around 1000 lives, but I guess it's OK as long as your family is safe and sound right?

Source: Trinidad Express

Joseph admits defeat: to take crime motion to Parliament

Ria Taitt Political Editor

Friday, January 4th 2008

in the hot seat: Martin Joseph yesterday.

Minister of National Security Martin Joseph yesterday admitted that Government's initiatives to arrest gang-related crime have failed.

Faced with public distress over the record number of murders for 2007, Joseph said Government is going to the Parliament on Monday with new measures aimed at "ensuring the safety and security and well-being of everyone in Trinidad and Tobago". (How many times have we heard that before?) He added that Government planned "to debate the issue of crime fully and comprehensively".

Joseph's admission came in the context of Government's failure to achieve the projected 10 per cent reduction in homicides for 2007. Contrary to expectations, statistics provided by the police reported a record murder toll of 388, (notice how they don't even want to admit that the true figure for 2007 is 395!) "the highest number of murders recorded to date" for any one year, Joseph stated. This represents a 5 per cent increase, or 17 more murders over 2006, he said.

The Minister was addressing a news conference at the Ministry of National Security, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain. At first the Minister stated that he would take two questions, but he eventually took five questions. (Is fraid he fraid d media so?)

Joseph said some of the measures Government had put in place to deal specifically with gang-related violence were the Homicides Prevention Working Group, the Homicides Bureau of Investigation, the Repeat Offenders Programme and the Inter-Agency Task Force which was used "as a crime suppression mechanism."

"Clearly it did not work and as a result those measures are being reviewed. And I can assure you that come Monday Government would be in a position to indicate what new measures and what changes are going to be made (to the old measures), to ensure that we do not have a repeat of what occurred in 2007," he said.

Joseph said that the bulk of the homicides in 2007-"I don't have the statistics in front of me"-were gang-rated. (What kind of idiot Minister would come to a press conference dealing specifically with his incompetence and not have the facts or the statistics with him? That is such a lame excuse and would not even be tolerated in a developed country. I guess he has up till 2020 to clean up his act. Any volunteers to be murder victims?)

Joseph's statements come one day after Prime Minister Patrick Manning said he was confident that Government would win the war on crime because it was moving to "completely eradicate" the drug trade (What this next one smoking?), the major source of crime.

Asked whether much of the gang-related violence was fuelled by the fight for government contracts, Joseph said: "I have heard that and the extent to which information has come to our attention that could point to known persons who are involved (in crime), actions are taken. Because we hear that (allegation), but we do not have the evidence to show that persons who are in receipt of government contracts are in fact persons who are directly involved in criminal activities." (More incompetence!)

Joseph said he reported to the Cabinet yesterday morning on the year end situation "which is of great concern to me and undoubtedly of tremendous concern to everyone in the country." (Yuh think?) He added that "Cabinet spent a substantial amount of time discussing the matter". At next Monday's sitting, "Government intends to provide the Parliament and by extension the public with a full understanding of all the measures that are being put in place to address crime; the challenges which we are facing and how we propose the treat with these challenges," Joseph stated.

The Government motion on crime was unexpected since a Supplemental Order paper had already been issued on Government Business, which listed only one motion-one on Tertiary Education. Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh confirmed yesterday there was nothing on the original or Supplemental Order Paper to indicate that Government was planning to debate crime since the only motion listed was one to commend Government on "its far-reaching and visionary Tertiary Education programme". (If the figure didn't go above 386 for 2007, the PNM would have never even bothered with debating crime. Thanks to the media for reporting and doing the research on this one. I think the media has a lot to do with the way people think in this country and if the media had not been highlighting the out of control crime situation in the last month of 2007, I don't believe the PNM Government would have even bothered to take any action. It's only because they are now looking bad that they decide to do something about. What they fail to realise is that 1 murder for the year is too much, it's only when it gets blown totally out of control and people start getting killed like it's going out of style, then the PNM Government decides that crime is a serious issue.) The Opposition, which meets in caucus at Rienzi today, is more than likely going to file a motion on crime.

Chief Whip Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj had tried at the first sitting in December to discuss the issue of crime as an urgent matter of public importance, but it was disallowed. (See my above explanation.)

Asked about the meeting between Prime Minister Patrick Manning and the "community leaders" at Crowne Plaza two years ago, Joseph said he was not privy to any information coming out of that meeting. Told that many of the community leaders had died, Joseph said unfortunately he was not in a position to respond to the specifics relating to some of these individuals but "what I can assure you is that come Monday, we would be in a position to indicate what the Government intends to do. "We will review the measures that we have put in place and the extent to which those measures have not worked and the extent to which we can expect new initiatives being put in place to treat with the unacceptable level (of crime)," he said.

It's obvious he wouldn't have given any explanation for the Crowne Plaza meeting of crime bosses and gang leaders because it would just make him and the PNM look more stupid that they already are.

Look at how much the people of T&T have to suffer before any hint of action is taken. Is this what the PNM and Vision 2020 is all about? If this is so then I think it's time we get rid of this PNM immediately!