00:00Former Minister of National Security and Public Utilities Marvin Gonzalez says
00:05the most troubling aspect of the 33-hour power outage following the arson attack on TSTT
00:12was the failure to adequately communicate with affected communities.
00:16He notes that during his tenure, an 8-hour power outage was preceded by advanced notice to residents,
00:23giving them time to prepare.
00:25The former minister says the recent blackout exposes serious gaps in communication.
00:31What transpired at the Beetham recently all emerged from a simple dereliction of duty from my perspective.
00:43The lack of information and the lack of communication.
00:47And I thought that that is very unfortunate and perhaps I would dare say it is a disrespect
00:52to the customers of TNTEC for failing to communicate with the citizens.
00:59The opposition chief whip also criticised the prime minister's remarks about Lavantel West MP
01:04Kareem Marcel and his supporters, which included references to being born into and growing up in hate.
01:11The behaviour of the prime minister and the discourse by the prime minister,
01:15all I would say it is very reprehensible and I will take the opportunity again this morning
01:21to tell the prime minister to have some respect for the office that she occupies.
01:27She is the political leader of a major political organisation
01:32and the office that she occupies as prime minister, she is the leader of the country.
01:37And even if that is her personal view, she must have a level of respect for the office.
01:45He adds that while the government continues to highlight a reported 46% decline in murders,
01:51that achievement should not be used for political celebration.
01:55According to Gonzalez, crime is on the rise.
01:58As soon as the last state of emergency came to an end, the reality, Lance, was that we observed an
02:06uptick,
02:07we observed a spike in home invasion, in murders, in breakings and in robberies
02:14in a lot of the developed areas around Toronto-Tobago, in Port of Spain, in East Trinidad, in Central Trinidad.
02:20We have observed over the last couple of days an uptick in murders, the murders of the attorneys,
02:25the two women, had some breakings.
02:29Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
