A National Security Ministry team is collaborating with Colombia to undertake a site visit to view naval assets consistent with an established Request For Proposals (RFPs), Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said yesterday in Parliament.
He said the Government was moving to strengthen T&T's maritime wall, which involved establishing strategically located bases around the country, manned by the Multi Agency Maritime Task Force (coast guard, police, regiment and customs) officers. He said the outcome of the Colombia visit would better position the national security ministry to forge ahead in the acquisition of additional assets in support of the maritime wall initiative.
"The CCTV initiative would ensure that key areas of the country would be fully covered by year's end," Ramlogan said. "By the end of the next year, the entire country would be under CCTV surveillance. This monitoring and surveillance would be integrated with a response capability from within all divisions, restoring a sense of hope and security in the citizenry.
"There's also a plan to obtain scanners for our ports from the United States of America. The National Security Operations Centre (NSOC) in its concept and layout would be equipped to co-ordinate and monitor operations involving security and defence initiatives."
AG wants Colombian boats
The AG said co-ordination integrated with support from the Defence Force, police and other law-enforcement agencies would bring a zero-tolerance approach to ensuring the borders were secured, closing existing gaps. "The escalated vigilance would contribute to the holistic approach to security and defence under this new plan," he said.
"Vessels would now be manned and patrol our borders in a two to 12-mile radius, working in tandem with the interceptors, and less costly but just as effective as 70-metre vessels which we intend to purchase to secure our east coast.
"Our new border-protection naval operational plan will involve 12 Coast Guard installations strategically placed around the island, with fast patrol interceptors assigned specifically to each installation. This will ensure T&T will now be properly secured which could not have been done by one OPV simply patrolling 100 miles off our east coast."
Ramlogan also reported that the Scottish Evening Times had corrected a report it published on Thursday about the settlement between the T&T Government and the UK?shipbuilder BAE.
Quoting the correction by the Scot paper, Ramlogan read: "The Evening Times yesterday reported that shipbuilder BAE Systems had won a £130 million compensation battle with the T&T Government after the Caribbean republic had cancelled an order for three offshore patrol vessels. We published the article after a spokeswoman for the defence contractor claimed it was to receive the cash payment.
"However, BAE has in fact agreed to compensate the republic, which had cancelled the £150 million order, after it claimed the delivery dates for all three ships were delayed and the combat system on two of them had failed during sea trials. "BAE Systems today declined to comment further on the result of the negotiations other than to confirm a settlement had been reached with the T&T Government. We are happy to clarify this here."
Ramlogan said: "I commend the Evening Times for exercising responsible and world-class journalism in acknowledging its error. It is an example that the local media would do well to emulate." He criticised all three local daily newspapers.
Ramlogan was critical of a report in the Sunday Guardian of October 28, saying, "This article goes into extensive details of an alleged Cabinet meeting, attributing detailed statements to ministers, thereby placing doubt and mistrust in the minds of the public in relation to the Government's handling of this matter." He denied a T&T?Guardian story that reported yesterday that the Government was planning to buy another boat from BAE.
"Now the Guardian is insinuating the settlement was simply a part of some shady and sinister cook-up between the Government and BAE in which BAE is making a deal in exchange for a future deal of some second-hand boats," he said.
"Well, let me tell you that nothing can be further from the truth. There is no secret deal and no hidden agenda behind this settlement. The Government insisted on its contractual rights, BAE engaged us in arbitration and before the award could be handed down by court, BAE agreed that rather than wait for that decision, they were prepared to pay us the sum of $1.382 billion to settle this matter."
Ramlogan said the Government was not buying any boats from BAE,?or any second-hand boats.