Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday praised T&T’s law enforcement bodies for displaying the will and commitment to their jobs. As she delivered her Republic Day message at Wall Street in Manhattan, New York, yesterday, Persad-Bissessar called on the nation to support local law enforcement bodies. She said in 38 years as a Republic, T&T has made incredible strides and has progressed as a democracy. “With each year that passes it is the people who have remained a constant source of hope and inspiration, so while we celebrate our democracy which continues to grow from strength to strength I take this opportunity to celebrate with the people of T&T without whom there would be very little reason to gather here today,” Persad-Bissessar said.
She said those who had demonstrated a serious willingness to act must be honoured. The PM also paid tribute to those who had laboured to build T&T. “Let us pledge our support to those who will continue to labour for us in the future in order to make our nation a greater place. We have come a long way but we do have a longer way to go,” she said. The PM said T&T’s economy as strong and initiatives are being put in place to further strengthen it. “We have our challenges just like any other place but we are making the effort to make the people of Trinidad and Tobago more comfortable,” she said. “And that is why we have increased the social safety nets and why we continue to invest in infrastructure…better roads, drains and less flooding and that is why we have witnessed increased investments in Trinidad and Tobago over the last several years.”
Persad-Bissessar said T&T, as the gateway to the Americas, played a very key role geopolitically and geographically. “All nations are interdependent and so in the fight against terrorism, global terrorism, T&T will continue to play its part as we intensify our efforts against terrorists.” Touching on the issue of patriotism she said this was a “good time” to be a T&T national and her intention is to leave behind a better country.