Business chambers: Giving national security lion’s share of Budget not enough to curb crime
Members of the business community continue to express concern about the capacity of the National Security Ministry and its agencies to successfully deal with the current crime situation.
Business leaders are saying that businesses of all sizes—from the doubles vendor to the large corporation—are having a crisis of confidence, especially as the murder rate continues to rise.
Vice president of the Fyzabad Chamber of Commerce (FCC), Anthony Da Costa, maintains that fighting crime requires more than just policing, noting that National Security tends to get the lion’s share in the national budget.
“One would think throwing more money at National Security and the TTPS may be a good idea,” Da Costa says, “but I think the problem is not necessarily more money, but leadership.”
“National security is a must, but putting more money into it without proper management and leadership is akin to spinning top in mud,” he observes.
The FCC VP says in the Fyzabad/Oropouche area, petty crimes are at an all time high, with many businesses being “terrorised” by the same individuals from that community, who are responsible for perpetrating those crimes, such as robberies, breaking and entering, and the like. He laments the fact that crime detection is very low.
And going into next week’s budget, the Coordinator of the Confederation of Regional Business Chambers (CRBC), Jai Leladharsingh, is hoping that Government will make every effort to facilitate drastic improvements in the national health care and education systems.
Leladharsingh asserts that much more is needed.
“I would like to see the heritage and stabilisation fund reach a limit of US$10 billion, at least,” the CRBC coordinator recommends. “Anything above that you may wish to withdraw from for emergency purposes … that’s fine … Keep our savings intact for the population.”
“We need more monetary resources allocated to our national infrastructure. Our roads—particularly the secondary roads—are horrible. They need fixing. Our highways need to be maintained. Bridges need to be fixed,” he says.
Leladharsingh also made a strong case for serious investment in the national education system, and particularly the physical infrastructure of the nation’s schools.
He also points to serious deficiencies in the health care sector, noting that the health care system is “vital for our nation’s citizens.”
“Systems need to be brushed up,” he observes.
He notes that the heavy demand on the public health care system—namely the health centres and the hospitals in the RHA system—is an indication that a large segment of the population does not have the resources to access private health care options.
Both Anthony Da Costa and Jai Leladharsingh were guests on today’s edition of CNC3’s The Morning Brew show.
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