Nearly two weeks after a major hurricane displaced hundreds of Jamaican families in Westmoreland Parish, a controversial government effort to move storm survivors out of temporary school shelters has devolved into public dispute, with displaced residents and a sitting opposition lawmaker accusing the administration of misleading the public over the readiness of new housing units.
分类： politics
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Davis urges Grand Bahamians to ‘choose progress’ over FNM
With the Bahamas’ general election just days away, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis made a forceful closing pitch to voters in Grand Bahama’s Pineridge community Thursday, framing the upcoming ballot as a defining choice between sustained forward momentum and a return to past stagnation, while sharply critiquing the opposition Free National Movement (FNM)’s record in office.
Addressing a crowd of energized Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) supporters, Davis positioned the May 12 vote as one of the most consequential national decisions in modern Bahamian history. He framed the contest as a clear binary: voters can either extend the PLP’s four-and-a-half-year term to build on the progress the administration has delivered, or “hit reset” by elevating the FNM led by Opposition Leader Michael Pintard, a outcome Davis argues would reverse recent gains.
Looking back at Grand Bahama’s history as a dynamic economic hub for the Bahamas, Davis acknowledged that repeated hurricane strikes and years of cumulative hardship had eroded the island’s economic vitality and community confidence. Under the current PLP administration, he argued, targeted large-scale infrastructure projects and policy reforms have laid the groundwork for a robust, long-term recovery.
A centerpiece of Davis’ address was the recent government acquisition of the Grand Bahama Power Company, a move he called a historic turning point for the island. The acquisition, he explained, is designed to cut burdensome electricity costs for residential and commercial consumers while aligning Grand Bahama’s energy infrastructure with national energy reform efforts. Beyond lower costs, Davis said the restructured system will open new professional opportunities for Bahamian engineers, technicians, and other energy sector workers. He slammed the FNM for opposing the acquisition, noting the opposition failed to address the island’s long-running high energy cost crisis when it held power.
Davis also pushed back against criticism of his administration’s handling of long-running disputes with the Grand Bahama Port Authority, accusing previous governments of allowing the entity to avoid accountability for years while Grand Bahama’s economy stagnated. Under the PLP, he said, the government has launched legal action to formalize and enforce the Port Authority’s obligations to the island and the nation, pledging that the second phase of arbitration will secure required annual payments and outstanding arrears owed to the public.
Outlining his agenda for a second term, Davis vowed to advance the government’s signature major development projects across Grand Bahama, including the long-awaited Freeport Health Campus, full redevelopment of Grand Bahama International Airport, and the revitalization of the Grand Lucayan resort.
Turning to national economic performance, Davis pushed back against FNM claims that the Bahamian economy is in disarray, pointing to recent consecutive credit rating upgrades from leading international agencies including Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch as independent proof of the country’s positive trajectory. He noted the two back-to-back upgrades in a single fiscal year mark a milestone not achieved in more than two decades, arguing that global financial analysts would not issue positive assessments if the economy were truly struggling, as the opposition claims.
Davis also addressed public criticism of the administration’s immigration policies and government travel spending, asserting that the PLP has strengthened border enforcement while forging global investment partnerships that have brought billions of dollars in new capital to the Bahamas.
Warned against voter complacency despite high turnout for PLP campaign events, Davis urged every supporter to turn out at the polls on election day, stressing that the progress the administration has delivered can only continue if voters actively choose to protect it at the ballot box.
Other top PLP figures joined Davis in hitting the campaign trail in Grand Bahama, echoing his call for voters to choose continuity and progress. Kingsley Smith, the PLP candidate for West Grand Bahama, delivered a fiery defense of the Davis administration’s record, contrasting the PLP’s delivery of major projects with the FNM’s term between 2017 and 2021, when the opposition held all five Grand Bahama parliamentary seats – all of which earned cabinet positions – including that of current Opposition Leader Pintard.
“Five cabinet seats, zero deliveries. That is the FNM record on Grand Bahama,” Smith told the crowd, arguing that even with full cabinet representation, the FNM failed to advance any of the island’s top priorities: no new airport development, no upgraded healthcare facilities, no resort revitalization, and no action to acquire the power company and lower energy costs. Smith credited the Davis administration with moving forward on every one of these stalled priorities in less than a full term, framing the PLP as the only party with a clear vision for Grand Bahama’s future. He called Davis the strongest advocate for Grand Bahama of any modern prime minister, urging supporters to stand united behind the government and vote for progress.
Pineridge MP Ginger Moxey echoed that framing, attributing Grand Bahama’s ongoing economic recovery and redevelopment momentum directly to the Davis administration’s policies. She highlighted the Grand Bahama Power Company acquisition as a transformative step that will cut energy costs for residents, businesses, churches, and schools across the island, while also pointing to other new projects already underway including the MSC cruise port, a major new development at Xanadu Beach, and the upcoming Afro-Caribbean Marketplace. Moxey framed the election as a clear choice: “forward with progress and strength or backwards” with the FNM.
Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper closed out the rally’s messaging, stressing that continued progress depends on PLP re-election. He called the May 12 vote a “generational milestone,” noting that the PLP has delivered tangible economic gains including the historic credit rating upgrades, record tourism growth, billions in new investment across Grand Bahama, and a pipeline of infrastructure and redevelopment projects. Cooper emphasized that the Davis administration has shown unprecedented political courage in confronting long-unresolved issues with the Grand Bahama Port Authority and high energy costs, issues previous administrations avoided for decades. He repeatedly urged voters, especially young voters, not to derail Grand Bahama’s growing economic momentum by voting out the incumbent government, warning that an FNM victory would put all ongoing progress and planned investments at risk, and urging voters to “protect their progress” at the polls.
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Hongarije: Peter Magyar beëdigd als nieuwe premier
On a historic Saturday in Budapest, Peter Magyar, leader of Hungary’s center-right Tisza Party, took the official oath of office as the country’s new prime minister, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16-year incumbency. Magyar’s decisive victory in the April 12 parliamentary elections secured his party a constitutional supermajority in the 199-seat National Assembly, where Tisza now holds 141 seats, clearing a path for sweeping political and institutional change after years of national stagnation.
The 45-year-old new leader used his inaugural address to call on Hungarian citizens to step through “the gate to regime change,” promising Hungarians not just a new cabinet, but an entirely transformed governing system. “The Hungarian people have given us a mandate to put an end to decades of aimless drifting,” Magyar told lawmakers and assembled guests during the ceremony in Budapest’s parliament building.
Magyar’s election win has been met with broad positive reaction both from domestic voters and international business communities. In immediate response to the transfer of power, the Hungarian forint climbed to its highest level against the euro in four years, while domestic bond yields dropped in a show of market confidence. Post-election public opinion polls have also recorded growing public support for the Tisza Party as the new administration takes office.
Despite the early wave of optimism, Magyar inherits a set of pressing economic and geopolitical challenges that will test his new government from its first days in office. While Hungary has barely pulled out of a prolonged period of economic stagnation, it now faces new headwinds driven by soaring energy costs spurred by the ongoing Middle East conflict. As a heavily import-dependent Central European economy, these price pressures pose a significant risk to growth. Orbán’s pre-election spending spree has also left public finances in a fragile state: recent data shows that by April, Hungary’s budget deficit had already hit 71% of the full-year target, with Magyar warning that the deficit could reach 7% of gross domestic product by the end of the calendar year.
One of the new prime minister’s top policy priorities is resetting Hungary’s Western alignment, a sharp reversal from Orbán’s administration, which increasingly tilted toward the Kremlin and openly opposed key EU initiatives supporting Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. Magyar has made clear that restoring productive relations with Brussels is a core goal of his government.
Domestically, Magyar has laid out plans for sweeping reform of Hungary’s public media sector, already announcing a temporary suspension of state media news broadcasts. He justified the move by noting that state outlets under Orbán consistently favored the former prime minister and effectively shut out critical political voices. He has also launched an ambitious nationwide anti-corruption program, and has set an aggressive deadline of May 25 to reach a deal with EU leaders to unlock billions of euros in frozen bloc funding, resources that Magyar calls critical to rebooting economic growth and stabilizing Hungary’s public finances.
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PNCR says refused to give up part of Essequibo to Venezuela
GEORGETOWN, Guyana – In a press conference held Friday, Aubrey Norton, leader of Guyana’s main opposition party People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), issued a forceful rebuttal of recent claims raised before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that his party’s 1970s government considered ceding a portion of the disputed Essequibo Region to Venezuela to resolve the long-running border conflict between the two nations.
Norton stressed that the allegation carried by Venezuela’s legal team at the ICJ is entirely unfounded. “This is untrue. When Venezuela made the proposal, it was rejected out of hand by the then PNC government,” Norton told reporters. The border dispute centers on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award, which established the current boundary between Guyana and Venezuela and grants Guyana sovereignty over the 159,000-square-kilometer Essequibo Region, rich in offshore oil and mineral resources. Venezuela has for decades rejected the 1899 ruling and claims full sovereignty over the territory.
Venezuela’s lead legal representative before the ICJ, international law professor Andreas Zimmermann, told the UN court last week that during 1977 bilateral negotiations, then-Guyanese foreign minister proposed a border adjustment at Punta Playa that would shift the existing borderline from its northwest orientation to a northeast route – a change that would cede territory to Venezuela. Zimmermann also told the court that during 1995 talks, both parties explored creative settlement options that included returning partial control of the disputed territory to Venezuela, including a potential lease arrangement that would leave Guyana administering some portions. He added that former Guyanese President Janet Jagan reaffirmed in an August 1998 letter that the UN Good Officer Process established under the 1966 Geneva Agreement was intended to explore all possible pathways to a negotiated settlement.
Beyond refuting the 1970s concession claim, Norton pushed back against the Guyanese government’s current approach to the dispute, saying while he welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent pledge to defend Guyana from Venezuelan aggression, Guyana should have pursued a far more robust, proactive independent diplomatic strategy long before now. The comment comes amid Venezuela’s continued refusal to recognize the ICJ’s jurisdiction to rule on the validity of the 1899 award, a stance that has raised regional and international concerns over potential escalation.
Norton outlined that a comprehensive Guyanese strategy should combine public education, targeted political influence, and proactive economic diplomacy that leverages the country’s valuable natural resources to build global support for its sovereignty claim, rather than relying on shallow transactional engagement with international partners. He also called for long-overdue formal recognition of Rashleigh Jackson, Guyana’s foreign minister during the 1970s talks, who Norton says was critical to securing resources for foundational research that underpins Guyana’s legal case. “It is unfair, and it should be rectified,” Norton said of the lack of public recognition for Jackson’s work.
Joining the call for a more proactive public outreach strategy was Dr. David Hinds, co-leader of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), who urged the Guyanese government to launch a large-scale, structured public education campaign to reinforce national awareness that Essequibo is an integral part of Guyana. Hinds noted that even at this late stage, an aggressive social media-focused campaign could not only educate Guyanese citizens about their country’s sovereign claim, but also reach audiences in Venezuela and across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to build broader regional and international understanding of Guyana’s position.
Hinds added that such public outreach would also create grassroots pressure on the Guyanese government to prioritize protecting the country’s territorial integrity and embed a clear national understanding of the dispute across all segments of society, as tensions over the resource-rich region remain at a decades-long high.
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LISTEN: Shugy says voters equated Pringle to a man who can’t drive
In recent political commentary that has sent ripples through local electoral circles, prominent political figure Shugy has shared unfiltered insights into how the electorate perceives one controversial candidate: Pringle. According to Shugy’s on-the-record remarks, delivered during a public interview that has since drawn widespread attention, a large cross-section of voters have drawn a striking metaphor to sum up their impression of Pringle – they see him as a man simply incapable of getting behind the wheel and driving competently.
This blunt analogy is far more than a throwaway insult; political analysts interpret it as a damning judgment on Pringle’s ability to steer policy, lead the community, and deliver on the promises he has laid out on the campaign trail. For voters, the comparison taps into a deeply held frustration: just as an unqualified driver puts everyone on the road at risk, they argue, a leader who lacks the competence, decisiveness, and vision to govern would put the entire constituency’s interests in jeopardy.
The revelation comes at a critical juncture in the lead-up to upcoming local elections, where Pringle has been fighting to shore up support amid slipping poll numbers and growing criticism of his past performance in office. Shugy’s comments have amplified already existing doubts among undecided voters, and have been seized on by opposing political camps to underscore their own arguments that Pringle is unfit for office. While Pringle’s campaign has yet to issue an official response to the remarks, political insiders expect that the candidate will move quickly in the coming days to push back against the narrative and attempt to rebuild his image with voters before election day.
Political observers note that this kind of plain-spoken voter metaphor is not uncommon in modern electoral politics, where voters often rely on simple, memorable comparisons to sum up complex judgments about candidates. In this case, the driving analogy has resonated because it connects directly to a core voter priority: the desire for a steady, capable hand at the helm of government. Whether this perception will hold through to election day remains to be seen, but it has already reshaped the narrative of the campaign and put Pringle on the defensive.
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Court Delays Asot Michael Will Dispute Pending Handwriting Expert
A high-profile estate dispute centered on the late former Antiguan politician Asot Michael has been paused until May 20, as legal teams on both sides work toward resolving disagreements over appointing an independent handwriting expert to verify the authenticity of a contested last will and testament.
Presiding over the case, Acting High Court Judge M.E. Birnie Stephenson issued a formal order requiring both factions of Michael’s family to file detailed documentation of their candidate expert witnesses by the next hearing. The required submissions include each candidate’s scheduling availability, projected service fees, and confirmation of their willingness to take on the assessment role.
Michael, who previously served as the Member of Parliament for St Peter and held a cabinet minister position in the Antiguan government, was discovered deceased at his Dry Hill residence in November 2024. At the center of the legal conflict is a will dated March 2021, which is being contested by Michael’s only son, Nigel Michael, and upheld by Michael’s two sisters, Teresa-Anne Michael and Soraya Michael.
Represented by attorneys Hugh Marshall and Chantal Marshall, Nigel Michael has advanced two core claims against the 2021 will: first, he alleges the document is a deliberate forgery, and second, he claims his father suffered from impaired mental capacity caused by alcohol intoxication at the time the will was signed. In response, the sisters, whose legal team is led by Dr Errol Cort, Alketz Joseph and Jada Cort, have categorically denied all of Nigel’s accusations.
Court records confirm that while both sides acknowledge the necessity of a handwriting analysis to resolve the authenticity question, they have failed to reach a consensus on which expert should conduct the examination. The sisters raised formal objections to the expert candidate put forward by Nigel Michael, Beverly East, citing unsubstantiated concerns that the expert could hold implicit bias in favor of Nigel’s position.
Judge Stephenson ultimately rejected the bias allegation against East, ruling that the claimants had not presented any concrete evidence to support the claim. The justice emphasized that serious accusations of expert bias require a “clear and cogent basis” that was absent in this instance. The judge also issued criticism toward Nigel Michael’s legal team, faulting them for failing to conduct appropriate prior consultations with the opposing side before nominating their candidate, a misstep that undermined efforts to select a mutually agreed expert.
In a final ruling to move the case forward, the court mandated that a single jointly appointed expert must be selected to conduct the analysis. It also ruled that all associated costs and expenses for the expert’s work will be split equally between the two disputing parties.
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Fractieleiders roepen op tot herstel vertrouwen in parlement en versterking democratie
On May 9, Suriname marked a major milestone in its democratic history: 160 years since the founding of its first representative legislative body. At a special public session held to celebrate the anniversary, faction leaders from across the country’s major political parties delivered a shared, consistent call for greater integrity, expertise, national unity, and the restoration of public trust in the national parliament. Despite ideological differences between competing parties, a single unifying message ran through nearly every address: the National Assembly (DNA) must rebuild its connection to the Surinamese people and strengthen the country’s democratic constitutional order.
Political leaders opened the session by reflecting on the 160-year evolution of Suriname’s people’s representation, tracing its origins back to the first meeting of the Colonial States in 1866. Alongside this historical reflection, representatives also offered a critical assessment of the DNA’s current performance and the growing challenges that Suriname’s democracy faces in the modern era.
Acting faction leader Rossellie Coutinho, speaking on behalf of the National Democratic Party (NDP), emphasized that the parliament must urgently confront whether it still retains sufficient public confidence. Coutinho argued that honest self-reflection is a necessary step for the legislative body to evolve into a modern institution that genuinely embodies and represents the “sovereign will of the Surinamese people.” The NDP also highlighted the need for increased female participation in parliamentary governance.
Asis Gajadien, faction leader of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP), outlined his party’s longstanding historical role in advancing democracy and the rule of law in Suriname. He warned that democracy is not an inherent, guaranteed outcome, requiring constant active defense to survive. For Gajadien, people’s representation should not be limited to parliamentary debates, but must deliver tangible, measurable improvements to the daily lives of Surinamese communities. He called for national unity and cross-community collaboration, putting collective interest above division and ethnic polarization.
Jerrel Pawiroredjo, faction leader of the National Party of Suriname (NPS), drew attention to the growing vulnerability of democratic institutions across the globe. Citing ongoing wars, rising extremism, systemic racism, and widespread information manipulation as global threats, he stressed that Suriname must remain vigilant against risks to its own democratic constitutional order. Pawiroredjo added that core democratic principles — representative governance, separation of powers, and press freedom — must be actively protected rather than taken for granted.
Vice Chairman Ronnie Brunswijk, representing the General Liberation and Development Party (ABOP), traced Suriname’s democratic journey from its colonial-era representative system to the broad, inclusive democratic participation the country has today. Brunswijk noted that democracy matures through experience, overcoming challenging moments, and sustained open dialogue. He emphasized that all parliamentary work must center the national interest, rather than fuel division between population groups.
Bronto Somohardjo, faction leader of Pertjajah Luhur (PL), openly acknowledged that public trust in Suriname’s political establishment has declined in recent years. Referencing the difficult living conditions that many ordinary Surinamese citizens currently face, Somohardjo argued that elected representatives cannot look away when much of the population lives in daily economic uncertainty. He stressed that the parliament must realign itself with the pressing needs of the general public.
Ronny Asabina, faction leader of Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP), underlined the non-negotiable importance of morality, integrity, and professional expertise for parliamentary representatives. He warned that public confidence in representative governance will erode further if institutional quality and professionalism are allowed to weaken. Asabina added that parliamentarians must always be mindful of the public example they set for broader society.Steven Reyme, faction leader of A20, framed political leadership as a temporary position that leaves a permanent legacy for the nation. He described the parliamentary seat as a “seat of influence,” noting that elected representatives carry the responsibility of building a strong foundation of better conditions for future generations of Surinamese. For Reyme, the parliament must remain committed to core values of transparency, integrity, and forward-looking governance to serve the nation well.
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The real toll of ULP debt
In June 1985, political commentator Dr. Kenneth John published a column assessing the first year in office of the Mitchell-led New Democratic Party (NDP) administration, which had swept into power the previous year. Among the key actions Dr. John highlighted from the new government were the release of Junior Cottle after more than a decade of incarceration, the recruitment of former Caribbean Development Bank official Arnhim Eustace to head the country’s planning division, and the appointment of St. Claire Leacock to lead the Marketing Board.
The most enduring takeaway from Dr. John’s 1985 column, however, was his conclusion on the NDP’s early fiscal approach: the government had stayed on a sustainable path by prioritizing strict budget discipline and implementing a temporary austerity program, rather than falling into what Dr. John called the permanent debt trap of the International Monetary Fund — the only other option on the table at the time. This 40-year-old observation carries new weight today, as the island nation once again grapples with pressing questions about public debt under a new NDP administration, drawing sharp comparisons between past and present political eras.
The current political debate over national debt has reignited after recent public disclosures on the country’s fiscal position from Prime Minister Richmond Friday and IMF representatives. The now-opposition Unity Labour Party (ULP) has seized on the disclosures to criticize the new NDP government, but this analysis turns the lens the other way, examining the cumulative debt accumulated by ULP during its 25 years in power.
When Mitchell’s NDP took control from the previous Cato-led Labour administration in 1984, the incoming government inherited a national debt of EC$190 million. Mitchell publicly described the sum as a “helluva debt situation”, particularly given the unaffordable 9% to 11% interest rates attached to the infrastructure development loans that made up much of the total.
When ULP won power in 2001, then-Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves argued the new administration had inherited a poor fiscal hand. Speaking during a December 2001 parliamentary session, Gonsalves claimed the outgoing NDP government had left behind a total national debt of EC$640 million, including EC$140 million in debt tied to the controversial Ottley Hall development project. After the Ottley Hall debt was ultimately forgiven, the adjusted debt legacy left by the NDP after 17 years in power stood at EC$500 million. Subtracting the EC$190 million the NDP inherited from Cato’s government, this works out to an average of just EC$18 million in new debt added each year during the NDP’s tenure.
By the end of September 2007, just six years into ULP’s first term, official reports put the national debt at EC$1.162 billion. With the Ottley Hall debt written off that same year, this represents a net increase of EC$662 million in just six years. Notably, the value-added tax (VAT), a major new revenue stream, was introduced just months before this debt milestone, in May 2007.
Official budget data from 2015 puts the national debt at EC$1.51 billion as of September 30, 2014, meaning the national debt grew by an additional EC$348 million between 2007 and 2014. By the end of 2019, the official debt total had reached EC$1.7 billion, an increase of EC$190 million over the 2014 to 2019 period. As of September 30, 2023, 2024 budget estimates pegged the total national debt at EC$2.5 billion — split between EC$726 million owed to domestic creditors and EC$1.7 billion in external loans. This works out to an EC$800 million increase over just four years, from 2019 to 2023.
When the current NDP administration took office in November 2025, it publicly disclosed that the national debt had grown past EC$3.5 billion, meaning ULP added roughly EC$1 billion to the national debt between September 2023 and the end of 2025, when it left office. In total, over 25 years of ULP governance, the national debt grew by EC$3 billion, averaging EC$120 million in new debt added per year — nearly seven times the annual average recorded by the previous NDP administration.
This commentary is the work of an independent observer, and the opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of iWitness News. Opinion submissions may be sent to [email protected]. This analysis sets the stage for a deeper full comparison of the 1980s NDP administration and the current NDP government when the current administration marks its first anniversary in office.
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‘Murder rate would be higher’
A shocking early-morning gang-linked triple shooting that claimed the life of a two-year-old child has ignited a fiery political debate in Trinidad and Tobago over the ruling government’s crime control policies, just months into its second state of emergency (SoE) implemented to curb spiraling violent crime.
On Thursday, gunmen ambushed a vehicle carrying Akini Kafi, 2, his father Aquil Kafi, and Anthony Wilson in the Port of Spain neighborhood of Belmont, killing all three. The child’s mother, Antonia Cain-Kafi, was struck by four bullets and remains in critical condition at a local hospital. This brutal killing followed a similar April attack in Morvant that left nine-year-old J’Layna Armstrong dead alongside three adult relatives, in what police described as another targeted gang shooting.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar addressed the tragedy Tuesday during a parliamentary crime debate, following a diplomatic ceremony at the Port of Spain Red House where 2,000 Indian-donated laptops were distributed to students across seven districts and bilateral education memoranda were signed. Opening her remarks, Persad-Bissessar expressed profound grief over the unnecessary loss of innocent life, emphasizing that the killing of a child represents an unconscionable national tragedy.
“Every life lost is a heartbreak to many, and especially when there’s a child, it’s a tragedy,” she told reporters. “I know our law enforcement officers are doing the best they can to pursue those responsible for this tragedy, and our hearts go out to the families and the loved ones left behind.”
Against this backdrop of national mourning, the prime minister defended her administration’s core crime control measure: the ongoing state of emergency. She pushed back against growing public and opposition criticism of the policy, arguing that the national murder rate would be far higher if the SoE had not been put in place. Persad-Bissessar also confirmed that no nationwide curfew would be introduced at this stage of the emergency.
Persad-Bissessar’s government won a decisive victory in the April 28, 2025 general election. Just three months after taking office, the administration declared its first state of emergency in response to rapidly escalating gang violence and mounting national security threats. A second SoE was extended on March 3 of this year, after intelligence services received concrete warnings of imminent gang reprisal attacks across the Port of Spain metropolitan area.
The parliamentary debate devolved into partisan acrimony after Defence Minister Wayne Sturge made the bombshell claim that the recent Belmont triple murder and the April Morvant quadruple killing are directly linked to ongoing inter-gang turf wars in constituencies controlled by the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM). Sturge, who is a resident of Belmont, told the chamber that two local streets – Serraneau Street and Belle Eau Road – have long been divided into rival gang territories, with residents blocked from crossing into the opposing area. He confirmed that both recent mass shooting incidents are rooted in this long-running territorial feud.
Sturge launched a scathing counterattack against opposition calls for his resignation and that of Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, pointing to the PNM’s own record of out-of-control violent crime when the party held power. He reminded lawmakers that under the previous PNM administration, the national murder rate hit all-time record highs, including one 24-hour period in July 2019 that saw 11 separate killings. Sturge went further, dismissing PNM MP Stuart Young, who first called for the ministers’ resignations, as one of the most ineffective national security ministers in the country’s history.
“When 11 murders take place under his watch, he has the gall to come and call for resignations on this side,” Sturge said. “What he’s not saying is that his own constituents are largely responsible for the most murders in this country, and they refuse to allow zones of special operations (ZOSO) to be implemented in the area.”
In a charged verbal exchange, Sturge pressed his attack, telling Young: “The same way you wouldn’t know when your constituents are going to murder some of your other constituents a street away, you expect us to know? But, let me tell you something, what we wouldn’t do, we wouldn’t know that four people are trapped in a pipeline and wait and let them die.”
Young immediately stood to object, labeling Sturge’s remarks “gibberish” and “verbal diarrhoea.” Sturge quickly shot back, responding: “He could call it all kinds of things, verbal diarrhoea; you know what he couldn’t say? That I lie.”
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PM: India delivered on promises
During a ceremonial address to Trinidad and Tobago’s Parliament welcoming India’s top diplomat, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has confirmed that New Delhi has fully fulfilled all development commitments made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2025 visit to the Caribbean nation, marking a major milestone in the deepening strategic partnership between the two countries.
India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Port of Spain this week for a two-day official working visit, accompanied by a senior diplomatic delegation. The trip comes on the heels of Modi’s landmark July 2025 tour, which produced a suite of bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) focused on cross-sector development cooperation.
In her address to lawmakers, Persad-Bissessar highlighted that every pledge made during Modi’s visit has been translated into tangible action for Trinidad and Tobago’s people. Among the completed commitments is a donation of 2,000 laptops pledged to support the government’s national secondary school device distribution programme; all units have already arrived in the country and are scheduled for official rollout across all seven of Trinidad and Tobago’s educational districts. A prosthetic limb outreach initiative launched with Indian support has already delivered life-changing care to more than 800 local citizens, and on the second day of Jaishankar’s visit, the two leaders will formally open the new National Prosthetics Centre in Penal — a permanent, locally based facility built with Indian assistance.
Additional pledged aid is set to arrive in the coming weeks, including 20 haemodialysis units to expand critical care access and two purpose-built sea ambulances designed to boost the country’s maritime emergency response capacity and overall healthcare delivery. In Couva, India has also provided grant financing and technical equipment to establish a new agro-processing facility at Brechin Castle, a project Persad-Bissessar said embodies both nations’ shared commitment to advancing agricultural modernization and strengthening regional food security.
Beyond development aid, bilateral economic ties have already grown substantially, with annual two-way trade now surpassing $1.2 billion. Persad-Bissessar noted that the partnership holds massive untapped potential for further expansion across key sectors including agriculture, healthcare, finance, tourism, infrastructure development, and non-energy exports. Trinidad and Tobago has also moved to deepen alignment with India’s global cooperation agenda, formally joining the India-led Global Biofuels Alliance and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. India’s global leadership in digital innovation, the prime minister added, has opened new avenues for joint work on digital transformation, artificial intelligence, archival modernization, and renewable energy deployment.
Jaishankar’s visit, Persad-Bissessar emphasized, builds directly on the foundation laid during Modi’s 2025 trip, which inaugurated a new era of strategic partnership between the two nations. The current visit is designed to move forward the dozens of initiatives and frameworks agreed during that historic engagement, which already cover areas ranging from diplomatic training and pharmaceutical cooperation to community-focused Quick Impact Projects. These existing agreements have established formal cooperation frameworks for public sector capacity building, public health standard-setting, youth development, cultural exchange, and grassroots community projects.
During Wednesday’s parliamentary session, the prime minister also noted the profound historical and cultural context of Jaishankar’s visit, which comes just ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s annual commemoration of Indian Arrival Day. The holiday honors the legacy of the first indentured laborers who journeyed from India to Trinidad and Tobago starting in 1845, a chapter of history that has shaped the deep people-to-people bonds between the two countries.
Persad-Bissessar reflected that the bilateral relationship is rooted not only in modern diplomacy but also in the shared experience of colonial exploitation. “India endured centuries of British colonial occupation and economic extraction, while enslaved Africans were simultaneously trafficked across the Atlantic. After Emancipation, indentured labourers from India were also effectively trafficked to our country under exploitative imperial labour systems,” she said. “Though they were distinct in form, both experiences formed part of the wider system of colonial exploitation, brutal, coerced labour and human displacement.” Yet from this shared history of hardship, she added, communities across Trinidad and Tobago turned struggle into endurance, survival, and nation-building: descendants of indentured laborers, alongside descendants of enslaved Africans and all other national communities, have shaped the country’s modern economic, cultural, and democratic identity.
To cap the first day of the visit, Persad-Bissessar and Jaishankar signed six new bilateral MOUs expanding cooperation across priority areas: Economic and Financial Cooperation, to strengthen bilateral investment and trade flows; Tourism Cooperation, to grow bilateral tourism and deepen people-to-people connections; Digital Archival Cooperation, to modernize national heritage preservation systems; Quick Impact Projects, to support grassroots community development initiatives; Solar-PV Energy Cooperation, to advance Trinidad and Tobago’s national renewable energy targets; and a partnership to revive the Chair of Ayurveda at The University of the West Indies, strengthening collaboration in education, traditional medicine, and cultural exchange.