MINISTER of Energy Stuart Young has been busy.
The Port of Spain North/St Ann's West MP on Monday cut the ribbon of a $13 million community centre in Cascade. On the same day, he waded into the impasse between Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) and its pilots, tracing the disruptive actions of the latter to a sense of entitlement. On Tuesday, he met with energy executives for an update on the Calypso deepwater project.
But throughout all of this, he was also fending off comments, allegations and insinuations from the Opposition and elsewhere relating to a weapon handed in to the police in unclear circumstances.
There may well be a straightforward explanation for what exactly has occurred, but the minister's belated 'confirmation' this week that he 'donated' a gun to the police has built a rather baffling mystery. Too often, when it comes to the actions of people in public life, the approach to accountability raises more questions than answers. That is the case here.
We note a degree of confidentiality is expected when it comes to matters relating to firearms and licences. Given Mr Young's various cabinet roles, there may well be issues of national security. Even as a citizen he is certainly entitled to privacy when it comes to any issue potentially touching upon personal safety.
However, we believe there is now a need for full and frank disclosure in relation to this matter given the nature of the portfolios Mr Young, a former minister of national security and acting attorney general, has occupied, the seniority of the portfolio he current holds as both Minister of Energy and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, and his role as an MP who is frequently called upon to engage with members of the public, whether in a constituency office, at ribbon-cuttings, on walkabouts or elsewhere.
The perception of a risk of preferential treatment by the authorities in relation to the People's National Movement chairman also heightens the need for all the parties in this matter to assure that relevant laws, rules, policies and practices have been fairly applied. Merely stating nothing is amiss is not enough.
The clamour on the part of some citizens for greater access to firearms, the efforts of the Dr Keith Rowley administration to weed out alleged instances of corruption in granting approvals, the strong actions taken against specific firearms dealers through aggressive action by law-enforcement authorities, and the fact that the impact of guns, legal and illegal, on our national security landscape has become a central issue within the shaping of both national and regional policy on crime all would tend to support a preference for transparency in this instance.
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