Newly appointed Minister of National Security Marvin Gonzales has pledged to take back Trinidad and Tobago from the hands of the criminal element.
Minister Gonzales spoke to the media at his first official event since being sworn into office on Monday.
Promising to communicate more with the public and bring his own style of management to the job, he said he is hard at work in his new portfolio.
“Give hope to the people of this country that you have a team at the Ministry of National Security and at all of the heads of the security agencies that we are going to commit ourselves to ensuring that we push back against the criminals, that we reassert our presence on the national landscape, and that we are going to take back our country, and return it to a place where we can feel safe to move around. That is what I am pledging to do.”
Minister Gonzales said preparation is already underway to put measures in place for the end of the current State of Emergency, which ends on March 30th.
“We concluded a meeting at 9:30pm last night at the Ministry of National Security, a meeting that comprised the Head of the SSA, the Head of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, and the Head of the Defence Force, Vice Marshall Darryl Daniel. A significant component of the discussion that we had last night was on plans post the State of Emergency.”
With regard to his promise of open communication with the public, the Minister said communication is key to regaining public trust in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
“You need to communicate information to the public. They must know what is taking place. You have to go out into the communities, meet them at the community level, meet the business communities, and all critical stakeholders. When you do so and you forge that close working relationship, you build trust in the public. So that is a very key component.”
The Minister made his comments to the media after attending the National Drug Council’s Pillar Talk 2 Conference on Wednesday.