Trini Post

Information Minister Neil Parsanlal says no new powers are being granted to the President under the Proceeds of Crime Bill 2009. Parsanlal said this yesterday in his contribution to the debate on the legislation in Parliament. He was responding to an earlier claim by Princes Town North MP Subhas Panday who said too much power was being granted to the President in the bill. Panday was referring to a provision which gave the Head of State the power to pardon someone guilty of money laundering and to return illicit assets confiscated by the State.

Parsanlal said the Presidential powers of pardon were not new. He said Panday’s claim represented “a personal attack and singular attack on the incumbent President.” He later slammed the Opposition, saying it had no moral authority to comment on the matter because of the “conduct” of its leader Basdeo Panday. Parsanlal’s criticism of Panday later sparked a heated exchange of words between the two, with Panday threatening to tell the nation about certain matters about Parsanlal on Mt St Benedict. “I can tell you what happened up on the mount, why you were not ordained as a priest, so you leave me alone,” Panday shouted across the floor. House Speaker Barendra Sinanan then asked MPs to refrain from provoking each other.

But the heated exchanges did not immediately subside. Parsanlal countered: “Mr Speaker, I have been raised in a house that says one must have pity on the afflicted, the conflicted and the convicted.” But even before he could complete that statement, Panday shouted: “I know what you could raise.” Panday later had to apologise on two occasions for his conduct in the House.
Parsanlal said one of the major objectives of the bill was to deal with the crime of money laundering in T&T. He later appealed to the Opposition to lend its support to the legislation.

Gopeesingh Speaks
Opposition support for the new crime bill did not appear to be forthcoming, as Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh said there was no evidence to show that passage of the bill would result in effectively dealing with the offence of money laundering. He said the Government had failed miserably in the fight against crime. He renewed his call for National Security Minister Martin Joseph to resign over the crime situation in the country.

By: Guardian

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Drugs and guns are coming into T&T at a faster rate than before, says National Security Minister Martin Joseph. Joseph’s revelation came at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media conference where he noted that the murder toll for the year so far stands at 90. The number of murders for the corresponding period in 2008 was 55 and 38 for the same period in 2007, Joseph said. “We know the root causes are drugs, guns and gangs…What government has to do is firstly try to reduce the inflow of guns and drugs into T&T,” he said.

Joseph said there had been a “gap” regarding the State’s naval assets to properly reduce the inflow. As a result, Joseph said the Government had decided to acquire the three offshore patrol boats, six fast patrol boats and six interceptors. He said the administration also looked at obtaining 12 pirogues on the local market. Joseph said six pirogues would be obtained by month’s end and the other six by March. “That will give increased coverage regarding the reduction of drugs and guns,” Joseph said.

“But something else is happening and one has to be extremely careful…There is something happening with the inflow of drugs and guns coming into the country and it is coming in at a faster rate than it had before.” Joseph said it was not prudent for him to discuss the matter at yesterday’s forum because of various other things in the issue. “So that is a contributory element,” Joseph said, also noting frustration on the part of police to deal with gangs. “When they go to the courts, there are impediments there and we have to correct those impediments. “So it’s not a straight case that we have done this and that and we expect performance…I’m not trying to make excuses as it’s part of the reality.

By: GAIL ALEXANDER  of Guardian

 Read full Guardian Article.

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