I write this letter after being bombarded by the many calls for a referendum vote.

Let me say that I do applaud the members of the Keith Noel 136 Committee for the efforts they have made in bringing to the attention of the public of Trinidad and Tobago the tragic crime situation and the inaction by the leadership.

However, since Keith Noel was murdered in 2004 there have been some 360 more murders. The nation has had the petitions, the marches, the representations to the President, the turning on of lights and the wearing of red and black. We do not need a referendum to tell us or the leadership that we are disgusted.

Government's response to the national outrage has been to use the opportunity of the many slayings of citizens to make expensive purchases of "crime fighting equipment" that have yielded no results except maybe to feather a few nests. Their apparent disregard for the gravity of the situation summed up by the constant labelling of the murders as "gang related" is an attempt to reduce the significance of the event just as "collateral damage" was meant to do.

The President's response is "insomnia".

The Movement for National Development is dedicated to MeNDing the society in a manner that no referendum can. 

The nation has expressed its disgust with the crime situation and the leadership crisis in every radio talk show, TV call in and letter to the editor.

Most of the middle and upper middle classes have no idea what poverty is in this country. The thought of not having bread and butter to give to your child for dinner, or not being able to afford shoes for them to wear to school is an alien concept especially as we focus on building our next house or buying our next car.

The Movement for National Development is aware not only of the leadership crisis, the appalling crime situation and the seriously unacceptable levels of poverty that plague our wealthy nation BUT we are also aware of the problems in education, healthcare, the penal system, the award of government contracts, the inequality in the society, the quality of life of the elderly, the drug trade, the poor employment practices by many though not all, the disrespect for the citizens and so on and so on...

These problems can only be solved by replacing the current administration with an administration made up of individuals dedicated to the genuine national development of Trinidad and Tobago... nothing else will work. The 36 must be replaced!

As leader of the MND I say to the population that If you are genuinely interested in transforming the society, then I invite you to support the Movement for National Development to bring about this change.

Best regards

Garvin Nicholas