A public employment and community maintenance initiative in Trinidad and Tobago has found itself at the center of heated political debate, with the cabinet minister in charge pushing back hard against longstanding accusations of so-called “ghost work” — a practice of paying unemployed workers for no completed labor that plagued two now-discontinued national programs.
Rural Development and Local Government Minister Khadijah Ameen, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for the St Augustine constituency, made her remarks during a community plant distribution event held at her constituency office on Pasea Main Road, St Augustine on the day before the Corpus Christi public holiday.
Addressing public and political scrutiny of the National Programme for the Upkeep of Public Spaces (NPUPS), Ameen refuted claims that the initiative’s roughly 1,600 deployed workers across 14 local corporations are non-existent “ghost gangs”. She emphasized that program staff are active in every region and electoral district across the country, turning out consistent, verifiable work. “We have been reviewing daily work logs and conducting on-site observations of teams in the field,” she stated. “I do not run ghost gangs. The number of workers may be smaller than previous programs, but every person on the payroll is showing up to work. Taxpayer money no longer goes to workers who do not perform any duties.” Ameen added that the central government is also conducting a full performance review of all local corporations to bring greater accountability and structure to local governance.
The NPUPS was launched as a replacement for two decades-old public employment programs, the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) and the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP), both of which were permanently shelved by the Trinidad national government in 2023 after repeated accusations of widespread corruption and ghost worker schemes. Thousands of workers lost their positions when the programs ended, though both continue to operate in Tobago.
Ameen told attendees at the community event that her ministry is currently exploring expansion of the NPUPS to under-served rural communities including Blanchisseuse, Paramin, Lopinot, Maracas and Matelot. Any scaling of the program will depend on approval of the new national budget, expected to be delivered in October, she noted. The initiative’s core mandate, she explained, is to address urgent public maintenance needs while the government develops long-term solutions for persistent unemployment and community underdevelopment. It also pairs ongoing productivity assessments of workers with support for local municipal governance and the creation of short-term income opportunities for out-of-work citizens.
When the NPUPS launched nationwide on April 27, a ministry statement outlined that the 1,600 hired workers would be responsible for regular maintenance of public recreational grounds, parks, and other community open spaces. “This program strengthens proactive, consistent maintenance across all communities, as our ministry remains fully committed to advancing local development and raising quality of life for all citizens,” Ameen said in the post-launch statement. The program currently offers three-month fixed-term employment contracts to all participants, and was first rolled out on a smaller scale in February to support post-Carnival cleanup operations, where NPUPS teams handled public space cleaning outside official Carnival venues, complementing cleanup teams operated by the National Carnival Commission.
Despite the minister’s defense, reactions from local government leaders across the country have been deeply divided, with some praising the program’s accountability and others criticizing its limited scope, short contract lengths, and alleged political bias.
In a phone interview conducted the week after the launch, Kwesi Antoine, deputy chairman of the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation, argued that the small size of NPUPS work teams is woefully inadequate to meet widespread need in the wake of the CEPEP and URP closures. “We are being told to send just one name for an opening, when thousands of people in this region are out of work and struggling to put food on the table,” Antoine said. The program currently assigns small teams of roughly 12 people per area, including one laborer, one checker, and one foreman. “Thousands of people lost their jobs from CEPEP, URP, the Forestry Division, even other government ministries, and we only get a handful of openings. It is impossible to choose just one person when so many are in need.” Antoine added that three-month fixed contracts do not offer the stable, long-term employment that workers need to plan for the future, pay into national insurance, and qualify for pensions. “The government could allocate the same budget to create stable permanent positions instead of these short-term stints,” he said. He also alleged that the program shows a clear allocation bias against areas controlled by the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM).
Not all local leaders have criticized the initiative, however. Siparia Mayor Doodnath Mayrhoo called the NPUPS a positive improvement over the previous programs, noting that rampant corruption in CEPEP and URP required urgent government action. He added that NPUPS workers earn just over $200 per day, compared to the $79 per day workers received under the old CEPEP system. “The program has rolled out across all 14 corporations nationwide, and it is already delivering results in our area,” Mayrhoo said. “Schools and recreational grounds are now in excellent condition, and communities are cleaner than they have been in years. Local corporations just need to ensure the program is managed efficiently to keep that progress going. If the national economy were stronger, we would be able to do even more for residents.”
Other municipal leaders have echoed Antoine’s concerns about insufficient staffing. Point Fortin Mayor Clyde James said the 36 workers assigned to his municipality could not replace the much larger CEPEP workforce that previously operated in the area. Josiah Austin, chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, reported that his corporation received 218 NPUPS workers, far fewer than the CEPEP contingent it previously had. To cover the corporation’s nine electoral districts adequately, Austin estimated the region needs roughly 2,500 workers to maintain public spaces effectively.
Opposition leaders have also raised broader criticisms of the initiative. Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi argued shortly after the launch that the NPUPS fails to deliver sustainable employment for former CEPEP and URP workers, and has left communities under-maintained ahead of the annual rainy season. Al-Rawi noted that CEPEP employed roughly 11,000 workers nationwide, compared to the NPUPS’s 1,600, and the reduced workforce has already led to unkempt communities and delayed critical maintenance at a time when upkeep is most needed.
Some other local leaders have backed the program’s structure. Ryan Rampersad, chairman of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, said the 204 workers assigned to his region were sufficient to meet current needs. Chaguanas Mayor Faaiq Mohammed also praised the initiative, noting that under the previous CEPEP system, coverage was inconsistent across the borough, with only one team serving Chaguanas West and unreliable support for Chaguanas East. “NPUPS brings a far more equitable, structured approach to public space maintenance across the entire Borough of Chaguanas,” Mohammed said.