Opposition walkout: Gov't is collapsing, says Persad-Bissessar

Opposition walkout: Gov't is collapsing, says Persad-Bissessar
Published on Dec 9, 2016, 4:54 pm AST
By Kim Boodram


Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar prepares to leave the Parliament chamber after being refuse leave to debate crime as a matter of urgent business.


Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said Friday that government is in a state of pre-collapse, having failed to provide security for its citizens.

Persad-Bissessar and the Opposition bench walked out of the Parliament Friday after government refused to entertain a request that crime be debated as a matter of national urgency.

The Opposition's call was prompted by a number of murders Thursday, including the gruesome end to a search for former bank clerk, Shannon Banfield, whose body was found in a warehouse at IAM and Company at Charlotte Street, Port of Spain on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference at the office of the opposition leader on Charles Street following the walk out, Persad-Bissessar said life of a child in her prime, at age 20, had been snuffed out and questioned how government could view the crime situation and Banfield's murder as a matter of priority.

She said accepting the opposition's request would not have meant that the debate on the FATCA bill would have been stopped.

Persad-Bissessar said the Bill was essentially designed to protect big businesses while government continues to fail the needs of ordinary citizens.

500 murders closing in T&T.

Toronto 61 with twice the population. ::confused::