His Worship The Mayor Alderman Junia Regrello Statutory Speech April 2017 Introduction Greetings It is my belief that the inherent nature of our city and communities in San Fernando, has relatively shielded us from the seemingly cancerous scourge of crime that is gripping our nation. However, we as San Fernandians cannot take this blessing for granted. It is necessary that we tackle this issue in a truly holistic manner and in doing so only then can we begin to earnestly contribute to the reduction of criminality in our country. The public perception of crime, which has now reached intolerable levels not only with respect to the nature of these crimes but the mounting social and monetary cost to society must prompt us to ask: What do we personally identify as a crime? How do we define and categorize them so that we can begin to address each cause. What we may find is that real issue is white collar crime and political crime such as: crimes against persons, as the case against the SOE of a few years ago that saw thousands of young men wrongfully arrested, crime against property such as the CLICO and Hindu Credit Union scandals and crime against the dominant moral code. These crimes that sometimes go unnoticed and are now threatening to steal the soul of our nation. The nature of these crimes often leave us questioning our values? Highlighting crimes against the dominant moral code, the seemingly loss of our moral moorings of the past has brought us to a place of antipodes. In today's society, con men, are no longer demonized but glorified. Their ability to cheat the system and succeed are seen as a triumph over injustice. It is this view of our societal systems, that is now deemed unjust by the vast majority of our citizens. Our moral code was the guiding compass that for so many years bound us as a nation and a community. Now in the face of a disrupted society, many are now forced to adjust their moral compass to be able to provide for themselves and their families. It is here we see, the mutagen that has affected our society. Political crimes are offenses involving, overt acts of omissions, which prejudice the intentions of the state, government or political system involving, bribery and perjury, which the present government must deal with. In addition to the wanton abuse of state enterprise funds perpetuated by high profile lawyers exploiting the system. In light of this we must ask who will guard the guards? Overtime the perpetrators of these crimes have become bolder. Their insatiable greed has grown to such proportions that it now affects us all. Practitioners of the ever growing neoliberal ideology have not only robbed our nation of money They have now augmented society to a point where the environment, both social and political, now suits their purposes explicitly. This air of confusion and unrest has taken away compassion, selflessness and empathy. Instead we see the instigation of class warfare pitting the middle class and the less fortunate against each other, while corrupt individuals of the upper echelons reap the rewards of this confusion. Political deals made, behind closed doors now erode our community bonds. A litany of corrupt deals are intermingled among the many news stories. A prime example is the recent scandal of the Tobago Fast Cargo ferry. The revelations made at the JSC hearing by the officials of NGC were startling to say the least and someone should be held accountable. Questionable multi-billion dollar contracts seen in the Point Fortin Highway And in today's Express, Mark Basants investigation of the sixty million. Dollars that was defrauded from the national energy corporation five and a half years ago remains unsolved. And many more dubious political decisions that now exact a heavy societal cost. When will it end ? All the while, these white collar criminals continue to reap the financial rewards of their corrupt deals. Now that the pieces fall into place we can safely ascertain that the root causes of our current situation are a litany of political and white collar crimes. The way forward For us to move forward we must gather our resolve Now is the time for us all to no longer be observers but active participants in the long journey to taking back our country We must hold true to our national motto: "Together we aspire, Together we achieve" We must aspire to be a better society, and to do so, we must act as our societal guards Currently the brunt of this responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of our government We must all rediscover our moral bearings and lend our support to the government as they root out the cancers of white collar and political crime that if left unabated, would act as a scourge upon our land. I ask all citizens of San Fernando for us to start right here in our city. To identify when you see wrongdoing, bring it to the attention of an authority, be the guardian of your community, city and nation Thank you

• published: 25 Apr 2017
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