Incoming President of the Greater Arima Chamber of Commerce and Attorney at law, Jonathan Bhagan says there's a growing sense of hopelessness among some in the business community in East Trinidad as criminals in the region continue to act with brazen confidence.
00:00Crime continues to unsettle East Trinidad, with two recent violent incidents highlighting growing concerns.
00:09There are reports that on Saturday morning, a 51-year-old man was gunned down in his Sanguigrande home at around 4.15am.
00:18And in the early hours of Sunday morning, the lifeless body of a 70-year-old man was discovered in Valencia, one day after he was reported missing.
00:28Reports state his car was stolen and his body bore a wound above his right eye.
00:34Today, incoming president of the Greater Arima Chamber of Commerce, Jonathan Bagan, says there is great anxiety within the communities.
00:44Well, there is, among some people, there is some element of hopelessness.
00:48I know a lot of business people have already migrated.
00:51And, of course, going back to the recent election, the current administration won a large side because a large section of the population was fed up with the state of the economy and the state of crime especially.
01:07But, of course, we do have to give the new administration some time to implement whatever plans that they have for the various measures that take place.
01:17He says the ongoing scourge of crime remains a major concern.
01:22The level of crime is very, very concerning, especially as business people are in legal fraternity.
01:29We are constantly vigilant to make sure that our own, ourselves and our colleagues are not kidnapped or killed.
01:39Bagan tells us he is open to working with the government in the fight against crime, stressing that collaboration is key to restoring safety and security in the communities.
01:51Again, we are extremely concerned with the level of crime and we would like to assist the current government with having more dynamic plans, utilising more technology, utilising AI to combat criminality and so on.
02:07I do believe that there needs to be a more rigorous approach, targeting the gang leaders, targeting the drug trafficking coming in and out of our borders.
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