00:00We have given the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service the go-ahead to acquire 500 new vehicles in 2025.
00:10Finance Minister Colm Imbert speaking about the issue of national security as he began the Senate's debate of the 2025 budget.
00:17Independent Senator Sunithi Miraj referenced some of the anti-crime measures the Finance Minister announced in the Senate
00:24and his more detailed budget statement in the House of Representatives on September 30th.
00:30The Minister has several measures that he mentioned there, you know, more cars for the police, more expenditure in the communities.
00:42But we've seen those, and clearly if crime is on the increase, those measures are not working.
00:52And so the question is, what is under this that is capable of being resolved at a fundamental level to get change?
01:02And I see nothing of that in the budget. What I see is a reputation of the same failed measures.
01:08The Independent Senator gave a dire prediction which he hopes does not become a reality where violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago is concerned.
01:18And with murders at the current rate, it would be a surprise if we did not establish a new record this year, probably between 630 to 650 murders. I hope not.
01:32Saying that murders are not the only concern, Senator Miraj said more needs to be done to prevent the flow of illegal guns and ammunition into Trinidad and Tobago.
01:43Where we need to deploy our resources most is on the coast. And yet the Coast Guard is the smallest unit of our protective and defense apparatus.
01:54Because that is what we inherited. We didn't need a big Coast Guard because the British always had an HMS Frigate or something around patrolling the seas,
02:04and wherever there's a riot, they would say, head to that country, head to that country. That is a transformation that we need to look at what are our needs for security.
02:15And the first thing we have to secure is our borders.
02:18Independent Senator Miraj said the regiment has more personnel than the Coast Guard.
02:24We all know that the Coast Guard is in dire straits. Several Coast Guardsmen are at various police stations, you know, being drafted because they don't have the vessels.
02:34When the Finance Minister piloted the Senate's debate of the budget, he did speak about what is being done to address the state of the Coast Guard's fleet.
02:44In terms of national security, we are carded to acquire four new patrol launches, eight high-speed interceptors to aid in border security,
02:57purchase two search or put in an order for two search and rescue surveillance fixed-wing aircraft, acquire drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, they're also called,
03:09to assist with surveillance and search and rescue, and continue to upgrade and maintain the existing fleet of vessels.
03:16The Ministry of National Security has received an allocation of $6.1 billion in the 2025 budget.
03:24Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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