00:00 On Friday March 1st the office of the Prime Minister issued a brief statement
00:04 with a photo which said that on that day Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley
00:09 chaired a National Security Council meeting at the Diplomatic Center. Two
00:14 days later on Sunday March 3rd the OPM announced that the National Security
00:19 Council recommended to the cabinet that the head of the SSA be replaced
00:22 immediately and that their recommendation had been effected and as
00:26 of Saturday March 2nd the head of the SSA had been sent on administrative leave.
00:32 Among the SSA's functions is the intercepting of communications in
00:36 accordance with the Interception of Communications Act. While speaking with
00:40 the media at the De Gaulle Martin Public Library the Prime Minister said the
00:43 government took its drastic action at the SSA based on information provided by
00:49 the police.
00:50 Not really around interceptions.
00:52 No, the SSA has a wider function and interception is only one. I've heard a lot of comments today from the usual rattle-rattle about interception and who...
01:04 That is not the main issue. There are other issues.
01:06 The Strategic Services Agency Act was amended in 2016 to state that its
01:12 intelligence gathering and other purposes are geared towards dealing with
01:16 serious crime which includes a range of offenses including homicide, treason,
01:21 terrorist acts, kidnapping and illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs. The
01:27 director of the SSA, the chief of defense staff and the police commissioner are
01:31 all authorized officers under the Interception of Communication Act who
01:35 may apply ex parte to a judge for a warrant for the interception of
01:39 communications. The OPM said that on Saturday March 2nd Ambassador and
01:44 retired Brigadier General Phillips Spencer on the instruction of the Prime
01:48 Minister returned from Washington and on an instrument from the President had
01:53 been appointed acting head of the SSA. Former Police Commissioner Guy Griffith
01:57 who leads the National Transformation Alliance told TV6 News that the
02:01 government has the authority to change the director of the SSA as it had done
02:05 over the weekend but he says that in itself should be of concern. The director
02:10 of the SSA is solely a political appointment so too is the Commissioner
02:14 of Police directly or indirectly the government decides who is the
02:17 Commissioner of Police and also the Chief of Defense Staff. Let it be noted
02:21 that these are the three positions and these three persons have full authority
02:25 to intercept the communication devices of any citizen in this country. Prime
02:30 Minister Rowley sought to dismiss any concerns about the shakeup at the SSA
02:34 specifically those raised by the opposition. It's not every day we do this
02:39 something must have happened to have warranted this. If you don't trust the
02:43 government then you will upset yourself with these conspiracy theories. I simply
02:49 want to say in Trinidad and Tobago there's a functioning cabinet which
02:54 provides responsible government to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. The OPM said the new
02:59 acting SSA director is currently engaged in initiating an extensive review and
03:03 audit of all personnel equipment and processes within the SSA.
03:09 I expect so as the days progress and to ensure that we are in proper
03:17 control because some people seem to have a problem with the government being in
03:22 control. The government is responsible for certain situations and ensuring that
03:28 somebody's in control and that requires personnel, it requires interventions, it
03:34 requires understanding, it requires receiving reports and acting on them.
03:38 Somebody's in control. The interception of Communications Act states that the
03:43 judge shall not issue a warrant unless the judge is satisfied that the warrant
03:48 is necessary in the interests of national security.
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