Crime
Senior Reporter
dareece.polo@guardian.co.tt
Just days after St Joseph MP Terrence Deyalsingh was robbed at gunpoint, one of his challengers, National Transformation Alliance (NTA) leader Gary Griffith, claims constituents are increasingly worried about crime as the general election approaches.
Griffith visited the corner of Mt Lambert Circular and Eastern Main Road in St Joseph yesterday for a community event dubbed “Soup and Chat.” Accompanied by his wife and campaign manager, Nicole Dyer-Griffith, along with other NTA executives, he distributed soup to motorists and residents who stopped by.
During the outreach, Griffith noted that numerous residents expressed concerns about crime and shared their thoughts about migrating due to safety issues. He said they also mentioned topics such as property tax, absentee representation, and worries regarding the revenue authority.
With a background as Police Commissioner from 2018 to 2021 and National Security Minister from 2013 to 2015, Griffith believes constituents are hopeful he can leverage his experience to combat crime.
He emphasised the pervasive sense of insecurity among residents, especially in light of the recent robbery.
“Some of them spoke about how they’ve become victims of crime. Some have asked if I can actually do exactly what it is I did as a commissioner and as a minister when St Joseph constituents felt safer,” Griffith said.
“They said that the present Member of Parliament, understanding what I was doing, decided to rush in there; that’s what I’ve been told—to rush in there by a bar to show that look, I am going to do the same thing that Gary is doing. He didn’t cater to the fact of getting robbed.”
Deyalsingh was sitting outside a bar in his constituency last Tuesday when two men, one armed with a firearm, accosted him. He was robbed of a gold bracelet after a gun was placed to his head. Two suspects were subsequently detained, but charges have not been laid.
Meanwhile, Griffith explained that the “Soup and Chat” initiative was designed to ensure every member of the St Joseph constituency becomes familiar with the NTA and highlighted his commitment to accessibility.
“What you are seeing here, you would not see with any other political leader. No political leader actually walks the ground; no political leader is accessible. I intend to do exactly what I did when I was commissioner of police, and when I was minister of national security, make myself accessible. This is not about walking into specific houses where you know they’re supportive of you to shake hands,” he stated.
As vehicles passed by, some drivers stopped to let their children take photos with Griffith, who expressed satisfaction with the outreach’s reception.
“If it is that shake hand and blow horn would have won an election, I would win hands down. That is not what an election is about. It is for me to show the country that we at the NTA are not here about the bitterness, the bickering, the bad talking, the arrogance, the animosity. We are about unifying, being productive, showing solutions, and trying to unite the country,” he asserted. Griffith intends to replicate this grassroots approach across all 40 constituencies as the campaign progresses.
PM reaches out after Gary’s wife revealed cancer diagnosis
Last Saturday, Griffith’s wife, Nicole Dyer-Griffith made headlines by revealing her battle with breast cancer, courageously showing her shaved head.
He expressed gratitude to everyone who sent well wishes and prayers, including a political leader he did not name, who extended support for Dyer-Griffith.
“For somebody being a major political opponent of the NTA. For that individual to have the maturity, the class, the professionalism, and the humility to contact me and to wish Nicole, my wife, and my family best wishes, that they would have us in their prayers, that says a lot about the political maturity and the class of that individual. So, he, and his wife, I wish to thank them.”
While Griffith refused to name the political leader in question as he felt it would be inappropriate to do so considering the private nature of the message, Guardian Media reached out to Dr Keith Rowley who confirmed it was him.
Asked what encouraged him to reach out, Dr Rowley said, “It was the only human and decent thing to do.”
Griffith added, “It is unfortunate that not all fellow political leaders could have shown similar class.”
Meanwhile, in response to critics, Griffith stated that the NTA is a united and supportive family committed to improving T&T’s economy and the livelihoods of its citizens.
In the Local Government Elections last year, 331,300 people cast their votes. The PNM received 130,868 votes, the UNC garnered 173,961 votes, while the NTA secured 15,997 votes, marking its presence in the political landscape despite being a relatively new party.
Griffith described his wife as a “tough character” and emphasised her vital role as campaign manager since the NTA’s inception in April 2022.
“She is actually the campaign manager for a political party that was less than a year old and was able to cut major inroads into the PNM’s 31 safest seats. That was never done before by any other political party because of what she was able to do to ensure proper management and structure.
“She played a very big part in that massive success, and I would say success because in those 31 seats, unlike Phillip Alexander and other parties where he would have lost every single deposit, we got back our deposit and were able to cut the PNM’s lead in those 31 safest seats by 35 to over 70 per cent. She had a very big part to play in that.”