In a stark revelation of financial mismanagement, Trinidad and Tobago’s National Maintenance Company (MTS) faces a crippling $850 million deficit inherited from the previous administration. Newly appointed Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath has pledged urgent action to resolve the crisis, which has left hundreds of retirees without promised benefits and exposed systemic failures in public administration.
The staggering shortfall was uncovered by Ombudsman Jacqueline Sampson-Meiguel in a special parliamentary report, revealing that accumulated receivables—primarily from government ministries including Education—have rendered MTS unable to meet its obligations. The state-owned enterprise, responsible for providing security services to schools and law courts, now struggles to pay retirement benefits to its largely low-wage workforce of 6,500 employees.
Minister Padarath, whose United National Congress (UNC) government took office last April, described the situation as ‘a runaway horse’ characterized by absent accountability and transparency. He alleged that ‘friends, family and financiers’ of the former People’s National Movement (PNM) regime received inflated contracts through improper channels, compounding the financial turmoil.
Current negotiations focus on recovering outstanding payments from major clients, particularly the Ministry of Education. Padarath emphasized due process in reviewing contracts to ensure legitimate claims while preventing payments to ‘ghosts’ or improperly connected beneficiaries.
The human impact is devastating. The Ombudsman’s report documents retirees waiting up to two years for partial payments, forcing many into debt, medication rationing, and severe emotional distress. With 200 employees retiring annually—mostly security officers and maintenance staff earning modest wages—the $20 million annual retirement liability has become unsustainable without immediate intervention.
The report condemns the ‘systemic administrative failure’ that created this injustice, noting that persistent Ombudsman intervention has been required to resolve individual cases. Padarath has committed to restructuring MTS leadership and implementing transparent processes to restore accountability and prevent future crises.