00:00The Opposition's Chief Whip, Marvin Gonzalez, has declared the party's position under the announcement by the North Central Regional Health
00:07Authority that the authority has launched an investigation into reports of alleged gang infiltration in public hospitals.
00:16Because many PNM don't support the engagement of criminals and criminals, especially within the state sector, there is a process,
00:25and my understanding is that one of the requirements for employment in some of these agencies is that you present
00:33a certificate of good character from the North Central Regional Police Service.
00:39And if for one reason or the other that was not complied with, then whatever corrective action is needed to
00:46protect the integrity of these organizations, especially our health agencies, it must be supported.
00:52MP Gonzalez was speaking during the Opposition's media conference on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the NCRHA said it has moved decisively
01:00to reform its patient escort and hospital attendant services, as it said it inherited an unacceptable breakdown in recruitment standards,
01:09accountability, discipline, and management oversight under the previous administration.
01:14At one point you would have been National Security Minister, if I'm not mistaken, under the former administration, former government.
01:20You were not aware of anything like that?
01:22Certainly, if the PNM was aware of this, the PNM would take corrective action about that. The PNM doesn't support
01:28or stand in support of anything like that, as I've said.
01:33The PNM's history, the PNM's track record is that persons who are, quote, duly qualified and would have satisfied the
01:41recruitment criteria for employment within the state sector, then they're entitled to be so employed.
01:48Of course, the UNC doesn't enjoy that track record. But we've satisfied a different day and a different discussion. So
01:55we weren't aware of that.
01:56We also posed the question about the UNC's criticism of the PNM with regard to the war on crime, especially
02:03murders. Opposition MP and former Minister of Policing Keith Scotland offered a response.
02:08We in the PNM will not try to rewrite history. There were 600-plus murders in 2024. We were in
02:18government. We take that because that's what we do. We take responsibility.
02:23But having implemented our state of emergency coming in to the last month in 2024, going into the first quarter
02:31in 2025, there was a decrease in the murders.
02:34MP Scotland said the former government's plan, quote, was not continuous states of emergency, end quote.
02:41What is happening is that the government is reaping, is reaping the work and the fruit of plans implemented by
02:50the People's National Movement.
02:52We say publish the methodology that would support the claim of the 400 lives spared. Publish the complete and accurate
03:03PDO statistics.
03:06MP Scotland was referring to Prime Minister Kamala Pusado-Sessa's commendation of the police service and all law enforcement for
03:13saving more than 400 lives and bringing down the murder toll.
03:18Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
03:23Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
03:23Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
03:23Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
03:23Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
