A planned meeting of Guyana’s key parliamentary oversight body, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), adjourned abruptly within minutes on Monday, 3 August 2026 after the entire opposition delegation from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) staged a walkout to protest the participation of Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, a senior parliamentary source has confirmed. The protest was led by APNU’s PAC representative Ganesh Mahipaul, who argued that Edghill must step back from all committee duties and resign from his cabinet post entirely, amid widespread public scrutiny over the 19 July sinking of the MV Barima. The deadly maritime disaster has left more than 100 people unaccounted for and presumed dead, and opposition parties have pinned institutional blame on Edghill and fellow cabinet minister Deodat Indar, demanding both step down. The main opposition bloc We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) has joined APNU in this call for the ministers’ removal. After Mahipaul raised the objection, PAC Chairman Vishnu Panday ruled against the demand, noting that Edghill retains his legal status as both a sitting government minister and an appointed member of the bipartisan committee. Sitting government PAC representative Gail Teixeira backed the chairman’s ruling, dismissing the opposition’s objection as procedurally out of order and insisting the committee’s scheduled work must move forward. Undeterred by the ruling, Mahipaul and fellow APNU PAC member Juretha Fernandes exited the meeting, leaving the body without the quorum required to conduct official business, forcing an immediate adjournment. The collapse of the meeting comes amid an odd contradiction for APNU: the party has repeatedly pushed for more frequent PAC sessions to clear a years-long backlog of unaddressed Auditor General’s reports. The PAC, as a bipartisan National Assembly mechanism, exists explicitly to investigate and question non-transparent government spending documented in the Auditor General’s annual audits. As of Monday afternoon, it remains unclear whether APNU will adjust its position in coming days to allow the committee to resume its work.
分类： politics
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Simons: Regering na een jaar nu in transitieperiode
On August 3, Suriname President Jenny Simons addressed a ongoing press conference to mark the first anniversary of her administration, offering a comprehensive assessment of the government’s progress over the past 12 months and outlining the priorities ahead, as the country navigates a critical transitional period.
Opening her remarks, Simons acknowledged that while a number of the administration’s initial policy pledges have been completed, many key initiatives remain in progress. Among the unmet targets, she highlighted improved public communication with civil society as a priority the government has yet to deliver on, echoing that timeline for another core reform — administrative decentralization — has also been pushed back. She confirmed that the required legislation for decentralization is on track to be finalized next year.
On environmental governance, Simons admitted there remain significant gaps in the country’s natural resource protection systems, a shortcoming she made clear the government is actively working to address. Turning to the long-running land rights issue, the president announced the Simons administration has reached the final stages of preparing a state decree to formally protect the residential and traditional territories of Indigenous and tribal communities. She added that the proposed decree will go beyond basic land titling, extending protections to old-growth forests, river headwaters and upper watersheds that are currently vulnerable to unregulated gold mining activity.
On the economic front, Simons touted the government’s prudent fiscal policy as a major success, noting that the country’s primary balance has shifted from negative to positive over the past 12 months — a key indicator of a nation’s ability to service its sovereign debt. The government completed a major debt restructuring process during its first year in office, Simons explained, which freed up fiscal space to deliver modest inflation compensation to households and implement a small increase to the hourly minimum wage.
In the area of rule of law reform, Simons confirmed that the process of updating the country’s legislative framework is already underway, and expressed hope that key bills will be passed by parliament this month following recent prolonged debates over official remuneration. The reform will also establish a new governing board for the Public Prosecution Service, led by the Attorney General alongside other senior judicial officials.
Looking ahead to future revenue from Suriname’s oil and gas sector, Simons announced plans to further update the national Savings and Stabilization Fund — originally established in 2017 and revised in 2024. The upcoming amendments will add two new dedicated arms to the fund: an investment division, and a social allocation earmarked for investments in the healthcare sector and affordable housing construction.
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Pamaka gemeenschap spreekt waardering uit voor voorlichting over grensprotocol
A rare show of public support has emerged amid heated domestic and political debate over a new border protocol between Suriname and France, with the traditional leadership of the indigenous Pamaka community publicly praising the outreach and transparency work carried out by the Suriname Border Commission. In an official letter addressed to Melvin Bouva, Suriname’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Cooperation, the Pamaka leadership extended formal gratitude to the commission for what it described as a “clear, straightforward and constructive explanation” of both the newly negotiated border protocol and the historic 1915 border agreement that forms the foundation of current territorial arrangements between the two nations. This public expression of approval stands in stark contrast to the wave of criticism that has swept through political circles and other inland indigenous communities in Suriname over the past week. Most prominently, Ronnie Brunswijk, chairman of the opposition ABOP party, announced during a public community gathering at Liba Krutu on Stoelmanseiland on Sunday that his party will vote against ratification of the protocol, claiming the proposal does not have the backing of local border communities. The Pamaka Traditional Authority emphasized in its correspondence that the public information sessions hosted by the Border Commission have successfully resolved widespread uncertainty within the Pamaka community. “The information provided has brought much greater clarity to the entire Pamaka community. We are very satisfied with the approach the Border Commission has taken to engage and inform our community,” the letter states. The leadership also confirmed that all questions raised by community members during the information session received full, satisfactory answers from the commission team, and commended the inclusive, accessible engagement strategy the body implemented. The letter was signed on behalf of Granman Jozef M. Forster, the paramount chief of the Pamaka people, by acting head captain Kamil Erwin. Discussions over the border protocol accelerated dramatically last week, after indigenous leader Granman Bono Velanti requested that the Suriname National Assembly delay consideration of the ratification bill to allow additional time for consultation with affected traditional authorities. Multiple other border communities also echoed calls for more comprehensive public information before parliament takes a final vote on the agreement. The Pamaka community’s public statement of support underscores a clear divide in local experiences with the Border Commission’s outreach efforts: while some traditional leaders argue that further explanation and consultation are still required, the Pamaka has become the first major affected community to publicly endorse the commission’s work and the clarity of the information provided.
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PM urges Vincies to ‘break new chains’ at Emancipation
On Emancipation Day 2026, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Prime Minister Godwin Friday delivered a landmark address to a national rally at Kingstown’s Independence Park, formerly known as Victoria Park. The event marked both the 192nd anniversary of the 1834 Emancipation Proclamation and the official launch of the country’s annual Independence Month, with Friday framing the historic end of chattel slavery as an ongoing project rather than a completed event.
Opening his remarks, Friday anchored modern social and economic challenges facing SVG within a centuries-long continuum of resistance, survival, and nation-building forged by Vincentians and their ancestors. “Laws can change in a day, but the fulfilment of justice, the full respecting of human dignity, and the work of nation building takes generations,” he told the assembled crowd, connecting pivotal moments across the nation’s history: the 1834 formal abolition of slavery across the British Empire, the 1838 end of the coercive apprenticeship system that delayed full freedom for formerly enslaved Vincentians, Garifuna resistance led by national hero Joseph Chatoyer, and the nation’s recent recovery from devastating hurricanes and volcanic eruptions. All of these moments, he argued, are interconnected chapters of a single national story of a people who refused to surrender in the face of hardship.
In a rebuke to narratives that treat emancipation as a finite historical event, Friday reminded attendees that while formal abolition was enacted in 1834, enslaved people in SVG were forced to work an additional four years of coerced labor before full legal freedom was secured. That reality, he said, should reframe how contemporary Vincentians understand emancipation: as unfinished work passed from one generation to the next. Though the enslaved people who built SVG’s foundations could never imagine the modern nation the country is today, Friday noted, they retained their humanity through unimaginable suffering, shaping the national identity that current generations inherit. “Today we acknowledge and celebrate that connection, and will not let the passing of time erase or distort it,” he added.
For 21st century Vincentians, Friday argued, emancipation requires more than remembrance: it demands active work to dismantle modern forms of inequality and constraint. Citing Bob Marley’s iconic lyric, “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds,” the prime minister argued that removing physical chains of chattel slavery was only the first step toward building full, multi-dimensional freedom.
Friday identified the persistent contemporary barriers that hold the nation back: “chains of doubt and fear,” the self-limiting low expectations that stem from being labeled a small developing nation, systemic poverty, and the inherent economic vulnerability of small island states. Rejecting what he termed “small-island thinking,” he pushed back against the idea that geography can cap the ambition of the Vincentian people. “Our size as a country has never determined our worth. Our geography has never limited our potential. Success has never been measured by geography. It has always been measured by character, discipline, courage, and perseverance,” he said.
Framing the role of government as a catalyst for this new era of emancipation, Friday emphasized that the state’s core responsibility is to create pathways for citizens to overcome structural disadvantage, rather than perpetuating dependence. “Because true empowerment is its own form of emancipation. Emancipation requires the empowerment of our people,” he explained.
To advance that goal, Friday highlighted his administration’s signature proposal: the creation of a new national development bank, designed not just as a traditional financial institution, but as a policy tool for broad economic inclusion. The bank will act as “an instrument of opportunity and our people’s empowerment,” he said, providing accessible capital and support for local entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, for innovators to turn ideas into viable enterprises, and for small-scale producers including farmers, manufacturers, and creatives to pursue ambitions once considered out of reach. The prime minister stressed that progress depends on shared responsibility: state-led opportunity must be matched by citizen engagement, noting that “opportunity and responsibility go hand in hand.” Friday’s overarching “nation of game changers” vision, he added, centers on equipping all Vincentians to reach their full potential and lift the entire nation through collective progress.
Much of Friday’s address centered on youth, whom he identified as the next generation of leaders across sport, culture, business, and public life. He held up prominent successful Vincentians as inspiration: local business icon O.T. Mayers, legendary cultural figure Alston “Becket” Cyrus, and international athlete Shafiqua Maloney, all of whom have carried SVG’s reputation onto the global stage. “Somewhere among us today is another O.T. … another Alston ‘Becket’ Cyrus … another Shafiqua … and someone whose gift we cannot yet imagine,” he said. “You may actually know them; you just do not yet know what they are capable of becoming.”
The prime minister urged all Vincentians to reject the idea that birthplace should limit ambition. “Never allow the place where you were born to become the limit of what you believe you can become,” he said. “Be leaders in your own way. You know what is right and what is wrong. Choose to do what is right. Always do the right thing. That too is emancipation.” He added that rejecting corruption, shortcuts, and unethical behavior is itself a critical step in freeing the nation from modern “new chains.”
Grounding his forward-looking agenda in the nation’s Indigenous and cultural heritage, Friday highlighted community-led efforts to preserve Garifuna identity, pointing to language revitalization work with children in the northern community of Fancy as a model of intergenerational transmission of history. He warned against attempts to “erase or distort” SVG’s history of resistance, stressing that all children must learn the stories of Joseph Chatoyer, the Garifuna language, and the centuries of survival that shaped the nation.
As a call to action for Emancipation Month, Friday challenged attendees to actively pass history to the next generation: “Bring a child to an Emancipation Month activity. Share with them the stories you were told. Let them hear the drums, experience the dances, learn about Chatoyer and our ancestors … Be intentional. Pass on our history; be the reason it shall never be forgotten.”
Closing the address, Friday urged Vincentians to view both Emancipation and national Independence as ongoing responsibilities, not completed achievements. He commended event organizers, cultural workers, historians, and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture for their work in deepening national consciousness of the country’s history. “The greatest tribute that we can pay to those who came before us is to live with confidence, with dignity, and belief in the freedom that they fought to secure,” he said.
Friday called on all citizens to reject division, negative stereotypes, and destructive ideologies, arguing that collective purpose and belief in shared strength are the only ways to honor the sacrifices of ancestors. “Every generation is called upon to leave its mark,” he said. “We inherited freedom. The best use of that inheritance is to expand it … Our ancestors taught us that we can do so much more than endure. They showed us that we could stand tall, think boldly, dream fearlessly, and build a nation worthy of all the sacrifice it has taken to get us here.”
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Permanent US Visa Bond programme takes effect
A landmark change to United States immigration policy is set to enter into force on Monday, August 3, 2026, as the U.S. Department of State codifies its controversial Visa Bond Programme as a permanent requirement for certain visa applicants from designated nations, including Grenada. The new regulation authorizes U.S. consular officers to mandate that qualified applicants for temporary visitor visas pay a cash bond between $10,000 and $20,000 before their visa can be issued.
The transition to a permanent program follows a 12-month pilot initiative, which was formally codified as Final Rule 2026-15726 and published in the official Federal Register. The policy falls under the legal authority of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, and Grenada was added to the list of countries subject to bond requirements in April 2026, at the launch of the pilot period.
The mandatory bond requirement only applies to new applications for B-1 business visitor and B-2 tourist visas from travelers in 50 countries flagged by U.S. officials for comparatively high rates of visa overstays and other immigration compliance concerns. Alongside Grenada, other Caribbean nations on the designated list include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Cuba. Critically, currently valid U.S. visitor visas remain unaffected by the new rule: a bond is only required as a condition of issuing a new visa, when a consular officer individually determines it is necessary.
For Grenadian applicants, the new permanent program brings a disproportionate additional financial burden, as the country does not host a U.S. embassy that processes non-immigrant visa applications. All Grenadian applicants must travel to the U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, for their visa interviews, meaning they already incur costs for airfare, accommodation, and standard visa processing fees before any potential bond requirement is applied.
Notably, the permanent program increases the minimum bond amount from the $5,000 floor used during the pilot to $10,000, with a maximum mandatory bond of $20,000 left to the discretion of consular officers. The bond is charged separately from standard visa application fees, and applicants are only required to pay after their interview, once an official bond notice is issued by the consulate. All approved bond payments must be submitted electronically via the U.S. government’s Pay.gov portal.
Travelers who fully comply with the terms of their U.S. admission and depart the country within their authorized period are eligible for a full refund of their bond following a formal claims process. U.S. officials note that the refund processing timeline typically takes between two and five months after a traveler’s verified departure. However, visitors who violate the terms of their admission — most commonly by overstaying their authorized stay — will forfeit their entire bond amount.
For Grenadians planning upcoming travel to the United States, the permanent policy requires advance financial planning to account for the potential additional bond cost, on top of existing travel and visa processing expenses.
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Caricom Reparations Commission Emancipation Day message
On August 1, 2026, as communities around the world mark Emancipation Day, the Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC) stands in solidarity with the people of the Caribbean, continental Africa, and the global African diaspora to honor the extraordinary legacy of enslaved ancestors. These trailblazers of freedom waged relentless resistance against one of the most dehumanizing, long-running systems of oppression in modern history, and their courage and unwavering determination remain a touchstone for justice movements today. As the global community gathers to celebrate their hard-won victory over racialized chattel slavery, the CRC emphasizes a critical truth: the centuries-long fight for full justice, inherent dignity, and substantive equality is far from over.
This year’s Emancipation Day observance carries unprecedented historical weight, coming just months after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark declaration on March 25, 2026. The resolution formally classifies the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and the system of racialized chattel enslavement as the gravest crime against humanity in recorded history. This long-awaited international recognition validates what enslavement descendants, leading scholars, and racial justice advocates have argued for generations: the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery system were not merely exploitative labor practices, but brutal, dehumanizing crimes whose intergenerational harms continue to structure the social, economic, political, and developmental outcomes of nations and communities across the Caribbean and the global African diaspora. The UN declaration strengthens the moral and political foundation of the global reparatory justice movement, marking a defining milestone in the international community’s reckoning with historical truth.
This 2026 Emancipation Day also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the landmark framework adopted at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. To this day, the Durban Declaration remains the most comprehensive international framework for addressing the persistent legacies of enslavement, colonialism, and systemic racism. As the global community prepares to commemorate this anniversary, the CRC is calling on all sovereign states to reaffirm their commitment to full implementation of the Durban framework, and push back against growing efforts to undermine its ongoing relevance to contemporary racial justice struggles.
For the Caribbean Community, Emancipation Day is fundamentally intertwined with the global movement for reparatory justice. While formal political independence was secured through decades of organizing, it could not erase the deep structural inequalities carved out by centuries of violent exploitation. The massive wealth extracted from the unpaid, forced labor of enslaved African people fueled the industrial and economic rise of European colonial empires, leaving Caribbean societies grappling with persistent underdevelopment, structural economic dependency, and entrenched racial disparities. These historical injustices continue to act as a barrier to equitable sustainable development across the region, making meaningful reparative redress an urgent moral and political demand.
In response to this ongoing need, the CRC has relaunched its expanded Caricom Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice: A manifesto for the coming enlightenment. The framework is designed to create a shared path for dialogue and action for former colonial powers, multinational private corporations, academic institutions, faith groups including the church, civil society organizations, and all people of goodwill. Through the plan, the CRC calls on all stakeholders to engage in honest reckoning with historical harm, acknowledge legal and moral responsibility for past atrocities, and embrace reparatory justice as a non-negotiable pillar of meaningful reconciliation, shared global progress, and a more just collective future.
As the community honors the sacrifices of the freedom fighters who resisted enslavement and demanded emancipation against impossible odds, the CRC draws inspiration from their vision of freedom rooted in justice, inherent human dignity, and full equality. Their unfinished struggle compels current generations to continue building inclusive societies free from racism, discrimination, and exclusion. In closing, the CRC calls on global justice movements to transform remembrance of historical harm into collective resolve, and turn the demand for justice into tangible reality for current and future generations.
This statement is issued by the Caricom Reparations Commission. NOW Grenada notes that it does not take responsibility for the opinions and content shared by contributing organizations, and invites users to report any abusive content via the platform’s designated reporting channel.
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FATF LAW PROCLAIMED
In a critical step forward for Trinidad and Tobago’s efforts to align its financial regulatory systems with global anti-crime standards, President Christine Carla Kangaloo has officially enacted the final outstanding provision of landmark 2024 legislation designed to strengthen the country’s frameworks against money laundering, terrorist financing, and illicit financial activity.
The presidential proclamation, officially documented as Legal Notice No. 596 of 2026, was signed at the Office of the President in St. Ann’s on July 30, 2026, and formally set July 31, 2026 as the effective date for Section 10(d) of the Miscellaneous Provisions [Proceeds of Crime, Anti-Terrorism, Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago, Securities, Insurance, Non-Profit Organisations, the Civil Asset Recovery and Management and Unexplained Wealth and Miscellaneous Provisions (FATF Compliance)] Act, 2024 (Act No. 17 of 2024). The official text of the proclamation confirms that after months of incremental implementation, the full scope of the 2024 legislation is now active across the country.
This latest proclamation builds on a series of regulatory updates rolled out by the Trinidad and Tobago government in late 2025, when President Kangaloo signed a slate of complementary FATF compliance bills into law. That November 2025 package brought into force all provisions of the 2025 Miscellaneous Provisions (FATF Compliance) Act, as well as Sections 10(a), 10(b) and 10(c) of the 2024 act, and select provisions of the 2020 Miscellaneous Provisions (FATF Compliance) Act. All of those earlier provisions took effect on November 17, 2025, following bipartisan passage through the country’s legislative branches: the 2025 act was approved without amendments by the House of Representatives on September 16, 2025, and confirmed by the Senate 10 days later on September 26, 2025.
The full package of legislative amendments updates seven core national laws, ranging from the Proceeds of Crime Act and Anti-Terrorism Act to the Non-Profit Organisations Act and Civil Asset Recovery and Management and Unexplained Wealth Act. When introducing the 2025 FATF Compliance Bill and companion Counter-Proliferation Financing Bill to the House of Representatives, Finance Minister Dave Tancoo emphasized the government’s unwavering commitment to rooting out corruption and illicit financial activity.
“This Government is not making joke in the fight against corruption,” Tancoo told lawmakers. The legislation introduces strict penalties for regulatory breaches, including fines of up to $1.75 million for violations by financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses.
A key groundbreaking change included in the new laws grants the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) explicit statutory authority to investigate tax-related offences for the first time in the country’s history. Tancoo explained that the new investigative powers will equip the BIR to effectively detect and deter tax evasion, a gap that had previously been flagged by global assessors.
The legislative updates also strengthen the enforcement capacity of the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIUTT), granting the agency new tools including the ability to issue oral regulatory directives, impose meaningful penalties, and publish details of fines levied against non-compliant entities. Tancoo noted that these changes will transform the FIUTT from what had been perceived as a toothless regulatory body into an effective oversight body.
“Through this, he asserted that the FIUTT will not be ‘just a paper tiger, but it will be a strong, agile and effective watchdog’,” Tancoo said.
The minister added that global assessments had previously identified significant gaps in Trinidad and Tobago’s ability to combat tax evasion, which siphons critical revenue away from public services, erodes public trust in the fairness of the national tax system, and creates opportunities for more widespread illicit financial schemes. Full alignment with FATF standards, which require competent national authorities to have adequate investigative powers to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, is the core goal of the entire legislative package.
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Kamla and Penny in row over race
A bitter public conflict centered on racial friction and national unity has broken out between Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, with the top political rivals trading accusations of fueling societal fragmentation on a recent public holiday weekend.
The dispute ignited after Beckles, leader of the People’s National Movement (PNM), published a scathing Facebook post titled *“Unity Must Start With You, Prime Minister”* calling on Persad-Bissessar to step down. The opposition’s anger stemmed from the Prime Minister’s decision to skip the 2026 African Emancipation celebrations hosted by the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, held at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village in Port of Spain’s Queen’s Park Savannah.
Beckles branded Persad-Bissessar’s absence as a deliberate show of disdain for a core part of the nation’s shared history. She rejected claims that the annual commemoration is an exclusive PNM event, emphasizing that “Emancipation is a sacred part of Trinidad and Tobago’s history and belongs to all citizens, not any political party.” The opposition leader went further, accusing the Prime Minister of petulant, disrespectful behavior that undermines the national commemoration, arguing that her actions prove she is unfit to hold public office.
Beckles also criticized Persad-Bissessar for defending a controversial Emancipation-themed event organized by the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), framing that choice as a second deliberate insult to the nation’s African community. She accused the ruling United National Congress (UNC) government of gaslighting the public about its commitment to unity, saying the administration actively deepens racial and political divides for political gain. Additional questions were raised about the upcoming Independence Day Parade, with Beckles suggesting the government’s vague plans for the event, tied to the ongoing construction of the North Stand that disrupted the Emancipation Village, stem from a fear of public backlash against the administration.
In a broader attack on the UNC government, which won power in the April 28, 2025 general election, Beckles argued that public discontent is boiling over due to what she called the administration’s dismal, vindictive style of governance. She claimed that the government’s avoidance of press conferences to dodge scrutiny, retreat from public events to escape pushback, and efforts to silence cultural criticism amounts to a direct threat to Trinidad and Tobago’s democracy. Closing her call for resignation, Beckles said Persad-Bissessar has violated the oath of office by failing to serve all citizens impartially, and that an honorable exit would clear the way for the PNM to lead the country with a unifying agenda.
Persad-Bissessar pushed back forcefully against the opposition’s accusations, dismissing Beckles’ calls for unity as performative, disingenuous political theater. In comments to the *Express*, the Prime Minister claimed that PNM lawmakers, party leaders and supporters have a long record of inflaming anti-Indo-Trinidadian rhetoric, citing slurs targeting the Indo-Trinidadian community used in political discourse during the holiday. She called the current PNM under Beckles the most aggressively racist and divisive iteration of the party in modern history, pointing to the verbal harassment of two senior UNC allies over the Emancipation weekend as proof of the party’s toxic rhetoric.
The Prime Minister singled out the heckling and abuse directed at Culture Minister Michelle Benjamin, an Afro-Trinidadian politician whom Persad-Bissessar described as a close political ally she calls her “daughter,” and University of Trinidad and Tobago chairman Selwyn Cudjoe, an Afro-Trinidadian scholar who backs the UNC. Persad-Bissessar condemned the attacks, saying PNM supporters targeted the pair specifically to spread anti-Indo-Trinidadian hatred and undermine Afro-Trinidadians who align with the ruling party. She added that members of the Emancipation Support Committee stood by silently on stage as the harassment unfolded, refusing to intervene to stop the abuse of Benjamin. “That is how they celebrated Emancipation Day by allowing PNM political hacks to abuse a young brilliant hardworking and kind Afro-Trinidadian daughter,” she said, explaining that Benjamin was targeted only because of her association with the UNC, not because of her identity as a member of the African community. Persad-Bissessar concluded by saying she has lost all respect for the Emancipation Support Committee over its inaction, and reaffirmed that her government will continue its work serving all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
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Govt thin-skinned
Trinidad and Tobago’s annual African Emancipation Day celebrations on Saturday were overshadowed by open public discontent toward Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her ruling cabinet, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition that frames the unrest as a sign of deep citizen betrayal over the administration’s recent policies.
The first eruption of discontent came early in the day, at the Arise Monument located near Port of Spain’s Treasury Building on Independence Square, where Culture and Community Development Minister Michelle Benjamin delivered the official emancipation address ahead of the traditional annual procession. When Benjamin name-dropped Persad-Bissessar during her remarks, portions of the assembled crowd booed loudly, and as Benjamin stepped away from the podium, one frustrated attendee shouted a direct rebuke: “We will remember that you promised food for tomorrow while we starve today.”
Tensions flared again later that same day at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village, hosted at Port of Spain’s iconic Queen’s Park Savannah. When Dr. Asha Kambon, director of the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (ESCTT), took the stage to announce that Persad-Bissessar would be unable to attend the scheduled event, segments of the crowd broke into jeers and shouts of disapproval.
Kambon quickly moved to de-escalate the situation, urging attendees to set aside personal political views and uphold basic standards of respect for all invited guests. “Everyone has their own views, but please be respectful,” she told the crowd, explaining that the prime minister’s cancellation was a last-minute change that did not erase her status as an invited guest. “Whether the Prime Minister showed up or not, she was an invited guest who was simply unable to attend, and asked those present to remain respectful regardless of their view, political or otherwise. We should treat all our guests with the same level of respect.”
In a Facebook post published the following day, opposition Member of Parliament Marvin Gonzales framed the public’s angry reaction as a direct consequence of broken promises and authoritarian overreach by the Persad-Bissessar administration. Gonzales argued that Saturday’s unrest was an inevitable outcome of widespread public feelings of betrayal, pointing specifically to the recent implementation of a state of emergency (SoE) paired with preventive detention orders (PDOs) that he described as “a new form of enslavement” designed to suppress mass dissent.
Gonzales went on to accuse the ruling government of paranoia and overreaction to public criticism, claiming that the administration now taps the personal phones of ordinary citizens because it cannot tolerate pushback from the public. He also questioned the government’s long-standing choice not to hold an official Independence Day Parade in central Port of Spain, claiming the avoidance proves the administration is “hiding from the masses” and afraid to face public anger over its failed policies.
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SoE a weapon against citizens
On Thursday, speaking at the Diego Martin Borough Corporation’s third annual Civic Awards held at the Diego Martin South Community Centre, Trinidad and Tobago Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles delivered a sharp rebuke of the current administration’s deployment of a national state of emergency (SoE), arguing that the measure has drifted far from its intended purpose of curbing crime and become a tool to suppress ordinary citizens and political opposition.
Beckles told the assembled audience that she has heard repeated firsthand accounts—and many attendees in the room have themselves experienced—how preventative detention orders, regulatory powers designed to be deployed only with extreme caution against verified public safety threats, are now being arbitrarily applied to law-abiding residents. She pointed to a recent, high-profile incident targeting her own party, the People’s National Movement (PNM): the party’s longstanding headquarters at Balisier House has been served with an Unexplained Wealth Order, a move Beckles frames as deliberate political intimidation masked as formal legal procedure.
“When the instruments of the State are turned against a private citizen with no criminal charge filed, or against the headquarters of an opposition political party, we are no longer fighting crime—we are silencing dissent,” Beckles emphasized. She made clear she would not remain silent on the issue, regardless of venue. “We are living through an unwanted, unnecessary state of emergency. I envision a Trinidad and Tobago where, if a state of emergency must be invoked at all, it is used as a precise scalpel against actual threats, not a blunt cudgel that harms innocent people.”
Beyond her critique of the state of emergency, Beckles laid out a broader vision for governance in the twin-island nation. She called for meaningful empowerment and adequate resourcing for local government, noting that local bodies should not be sidelined as a “poor relative” of central government. Instead, she argued, they are essential partners in delivering core public services—from repairing failing drainage infrastructure to building public parks, creating local employment, and rebuilding community pride one borough at a time.
Beckles also spoke to the value of Trinidad and Tobago’s multiethnic tapestry, highlighted by the diverse population of Diego Martin that includes Afro-Trinidadians, Indo-Trinidadians, Chinese, European, Syrian-Lebanese, First Peoples, and migrants from other Caribbean islands who have made the nation their home. “Every ethnic thread should be celebrated, not exploited for political division,” she said.
Turning to the legacy of the nation’s first prime minister, the late Dr Eric Williams, who founded the modern republic, Beckles recalled that Williams built the nation from grassroots, not from an elite ivory tower. His vision rested on the conviction that investment in education, national self-respect, and unity would lift the small twin-island state onto the global stage. Working tirelessly to advance that vision, Williams ultimately sacrificed his own health in service of the country, leaving a legacy of a republic that generations of Trinbagonians can be proud of. “We cannot, in this patriotic season, allow that inheritance to be squandered—not by lawlessness, not by careless rhetoric, not by a government that treats its own citizens as enemies of the state,” Beckles said.
Beckles closed with a call for a new approach to governance, saying the nation deserves an administration that turns hope into tangible policy rather than empty campaign slogans. She affirmed her commitment to carry this vision from the Diego Martin stage to the Prime Minister’s official residence at Whitehall, should voters give her the opportunity, drawing on the same conviction that brought her into public office as a councilor in Arima back in 1992.
Echoing a prior remark from former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Beckles concluded: “Do not let anyone tell you that this is a lawless dump. This is home. This is sacred ground, watered by the sweat of every ancestor who ever called it home. It deserves leadership that treats it that way.”
The ceremony, held under the theme “Stronger Together, Faith For Family, Community and Borough”, was attended by multiple senior members of the borough corporation, including Mayor Akeliah Glasgow-Warner.