Chebat Claims UDP Paid for Peace; Panton Fires Back

Did the former government pay criminals to keep the peace? National Security Minister Michel Chebat says it did. On Sunday, Chebat accused the United Democratic Party of using a transactional approach to crime, claiming the former administration paid criminals to stay quiet until the People’s United Party ended the arrangement. Today, the UDP fired back, rejecting Chebat’s version of events and challenging the government’s own record on crime.

 

Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“I think it would bode well, if the new minister, the fourth Minister of National Security would take some time to critically examine the response of the UDP. Certainly not all the measures that were implemented worked, but I will tell you that our measures were always people centered, making sure the wellbeing of the families, the wellbeing of our communities were first taken to account. Does that equate to being transactional? I beg to disagree.”

 

Damian Gough, Member, United Democratic Party

“It is not necessarily a matter of it being transactional. At the end of the day, as the party leader has pointed out, part of our policy analysis has identified the fact that cost of living realities, earning a buck, putting three meals on the table, putting your kids through school, paying your rent, those are real issues that people are facing today. And when you don’t have an alterative to earn a living desperation kicks in and that is when it leads to other activities, like crime. Yes the type of work under an LIU program was trivial. You are talking about land cutting grass and that sort of thing. But at the end of the day the five hundred sort of people that were depending on that, and their families, had some sort of income guaranteed and coming in. And that provided a level of comfort to plan how you will meet some of them.”

 

The UDP contends that the government must take on a certain level of responsibility to provide alternative opportunities to persons living in marginalized communities.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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