Carib Scope

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  • Pintard promises change at final FNM rally

    Pintard promises change at final FNM rally

    On the eve of The Bahamas’ hotly contested general election, Free National Movement (FNM) leader Michael Pintard brought his party’s campaign to a close Saturday night with a sweeping call for national change, positioning the opposition as a transformative alternative to the incumbent Davis administration that has left thousands of Bahamians struggling economically.

    Speaking to a fired-up crowd of supporters at a rally held near the former Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, Pintard framed the FNM’s core mission as restoring public trust in national governance, promising Bahamians a new administration rooted in honesty, transparency, and tangible improvements to everyday quality of life.

    “Tonight, we’ve come to make the case that things can in fact be different,” Pintard told the audience. “We are asking you once again to invest your trust in a team that promises to serve you in humility, to be honest in the conduct of public affairs, and to be open and transparent with you about how every decision is made.”

    Pintard opened his critique of the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) by questioning the impact of billions in value-added tax revenue collected by the Davis administration, asking supporters what tangible improvements Bahamians have actually seen in critical areas of daily life. “They’ve earned a tremendous amount of money and we are left to ask: What have they done with the money? What can we touch and feel that has made a difference in the most fundamental areas of our lives?” he said.

    The FNM leader cast the upcoming election as a defining battle for expanded economic opportunity, particularly for marginalized groups including young Bahamians, frontline healthcare workers, small business entrepreneurs, and working families struggling to make ends meet.

    Opening up about his personal background, Pintard reflected on his upbringing in a single-parent public-school household, crediting his mother with building the character and determination that led him to the final campaign rally of a national election. “I had no idea that one night I’d be on a stage at the last rally before a poll in one of the greatest countries on this side of glory,” he said.

    Pintard emphasized that the national government holds a fundamental “duty of care” to help children and young people build a more prosperous future than the current generation inherited, while warning against the rise of a system where personal and professional success depends exclusively on political connections rather than merit.

    He laid out the FNM’s key policy pledges ahead of the vote: the construction of 5,000 new affordable homes over a five-year term, the expansion of public healthcare staffing with 100 additional doctors and more than 200 new nursing positions, targeted grants and low-interest loans to grow small and medium entrepreneurship, and intentional economic diversification to reduce The Bahamas’ longstanding reliance on tourism and financial services. Pintard also highlighted the party’s priorities around strengthening national food security, protecting domestic fisheries, expanding technology infrastructure, and unlocking new economic opportunities in the blue and green economies. “We believe this country can grow on more than just tourism and financial services,” he added.

    On governance reform, Pintard pledged to implement long-delayed national Freedom of Information legislation to enforce greater government accountability and transparency, telling supporters he has no fear of open records because the FNM has no corrupt activity to hide. “I’m not scared of freedom of information because we ain’t going to be doing no crookedness,” he said.

    The opposition leader also spoke forcefully about strengthening border protection and upholding national sovereignty, promising to prioritize Bahamian workers for all available jobs and economic opportunities across the country. “We will never displace Bahamians who should have first option — first dibs — on all things in our country,” he said. Pintard closed his remarks by urging supporters to turn out in force to vote, framing the election as a once-in-a-generation defining moment that will shape the nation’s trajectory for years to come.

    Before Pintard took the stage, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, a towering figure within the FNM, addressed the crowd to ramp up pressure on the incumbent administration, urging Bahamians to vote the PLP out of office to allow a new government to audit the nation’s public finances and citizenship records.

    Ingraham accused the Davis administration of failing to address a laundry list of public concerns, ranging from weak governance oversight and reckless public spending to fraudulent Bahamian passports, strained public healthcare services, and uncompetitive no-bid government contracts. He directly asked the crowd whether the PLP had earned a second term in office, delivering a sharp rebuke: “They haven’t earned it, don’t give it to them. They have failed to properly address multiple allegations against their governance, fraudulent Bahamian passports, excessive unexplained public expenditure, healthcare system in crisis, inadequate and inefficient public services.”

    The former prime minister added that the administration’s consistent inability to pay its public obligations and the award of “large numbers of no bid contracts for suspiciously exorbitant sums of money to a favored few are all good reasons” to deny the PLP another term. “It’s time for someone else to check our books,” Ingraham stressed. “Someone needs to check the books, the treasury, and somebody needs to check our citizenship record. If for no other reason, you vote tomorrow, vote for somebody else to have a look at the books.”

    Ingraham also defended Pintard against recent PLP criticism that the FNM leader lacks sufficient executive experience to serve as prime minister, noting that every first-time prime minister takes office without prior experience in the nation’s top job. He added that Pintard is already a tested leader, having served in two different cabinet positions during a previous FNM administration. “I hear some of them talking about experience, and how critical it is for a prime minister to have experience,” Ingraham said. “Well, the first thing is, nobody who gets elected for the first time has any experience as prime minister.”

  • St Mary Central MP questions delays and budgeting under SPARK programme

    St Mary Central MP questions delays and budgeting under SPARK programme

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — A sitting Jamaican lawmaker has launched sharp criticism of the national government’s flagship SPARK infrastructure initiative, flagging systemic problems ranging from delayed timelines and mismatched budgeting to flawed road selection that have left key communities stranded in unsafe, unnavigable conditions. Omar Newell, the Member of Parliament representing the St Mary Central constituency, laid out his grievances in a dedicated press briefing held Tuesday, branded “Uncovering the Facts on the SPARK Road Programme”, where he detailed years of broken promises that have eroded public confidence in the government’s development commitments.

    Designed to upgrade Jamaica’s crumbling road network and align with the administration’s broader economic growth and social development targets, the SPARK programme is structured into four large-scale construction packages focused on expanding and rehabilitating transportation infrastructure across the island. But for St Mary Central, Newell argues, the initiative has failed to deliver on even its most basic pledges, leaving multiple long-suffering communities stuck with deteriorating roadways that cripple daily life.

    Among the hardest-hit areas are Islington, Marlborough, Essex and Tremolesworth, where unsafe road conditions have brought everyday activity to a near standstill. “These communities are dying. Islington has a high school, one of two high schools in the constituency, and three primary schools. There is no safe way in and no safe way out,” Newell told reporters.

    The lawmaker recounted the timeline of unmet promises stretching back more than two years. During a public SPARK consultation held in May 2024, local residents were told that 10 roads across the constituency would be selected for rehabilitation under the programme. Newell left that meeting expecting key corridors including Thompson Town Road, Esher Avenue and Albion Mountain to be upgraded alongside several other critical routes.

    After Newell was confirmed as the St Mary Central parliamentary candidate, he was invited to name liaison officers for two prioritized road projects. Construction work on those projects kicked off in March 2025, with heavy excavation equipment and work teams mobilizing to begin overhauls.

    But the progress quickly ground to a halt over unresolved infrastructure issues, Newell claims. In April 2025, the liaison officer for the Kilancholly corridor flagged that contractors were preparing to lay asphalt without addressing long-standing leaking water pipe problems that had damaged the road foundation for years. Fed up with repeated complaints that went unanswered by officials, local residents grew increasingly frustrated and threatened to reach out to independent media to highlight the issue.

    According to Newell, when media did begin to inquire about the problems, Robert Morgan, the minister responsible for public works, told reporters in May 2025 that piping upgrades had always been part of the Kilancholly project scope, and the issue would be resolved. More than a year later, however, residents still face major disruptions and unsafe conditions.

    “We are now in May 2026, and up to last week, people were still driving into Kilancholly and into Tremolesworth experiencing significant delays because of a ridiculous amount of mud on the road,” Newell said. It was only after the MP issued a public press release last week that a work team was dispatched to the community on the following Saturday, he added. Even that intervention did little to repair public trust, Newell noted, as residents have become accustomed to repeated starts and stops on the project with no sustained progress.

    Newell pushed back against attempts by the works minister to claim credit for SPARK’s successes across other parts of the country, arguing that Morgan must also take accountability for the failures in St Mary Central. Beyond the execution delays, the MP also raised serious questions about the programme’s budgeting for the constituency. When he took office, Newell said, he learned that the estimated total cost to rehabilitate the 10 promised roads exceeded 800 million Jamaican dollars — yet the total SPARK budget allocated to St Mary Central sits at just 272 million dollars.

    The gap between promises and available funding has led Newell to question whether the initial commitments were made for political gain rather than genuine development. He warned that the mishandling of the programme is doing lasting damage to public confidence in government. “If you can’t trust the word of your Government, you can’t trust anything,” he said.

  • Davis urges voters to ‘choose progress’ at PLP’s final rally

    Davis urges voters to ‘choose progress’ at PLP’s final rally

    On the eve of The Bahamas’ critical general election, the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) brought its months-long nationwide campaign to a rousing close on Monday night with a closing rally held at Nassau’s iconic Montagu Park. The event was headlined by incumbent Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who delivered the final push for voter support ahead of Tuesday’s polling.\n\nDavis was joined on stage by key senior party figures, including Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, St Anne’s parliamentary candidate Keno Wong, incumbent Centreville Member of Parliament Jomo Campbell, and incumbent Carmichael Road MP Keith Bell. A number of other PLP representatives were notably absent from the final gathering, with party insiders indicating most were wrapping up last-minute outreach efforts in their own constituencies to sway undecided voters ahead of polling day.\n\nIn his closing address to hundreds of assembled supporters, Davis issued a direct appeal to Bahamian voters to grant the PLP a second consecutive term in office, arguing that a new mandate would allow the government to see through the policy and infrastructure projects launched during the party’s current four-and-a-half-year tenure. He opened his remarks by extending gratitude to both loyal PLP backers and all Bahamians for their ongoing support throughout his time as prime minister, noting that public prayers and encouragement had been a critical source of strength through challenging moments of his leadership.\n\n“At the core of our democratic system is the fundamental right of every citizen to make their own choice at the ballot box,” Davis told the crowd. “Tomorrow, that choice could not be clearer: you can vote for continued progress by casting your ballot for the PLP. Or you can choose the opposition’s ‘reset’ platform, which would take our country backward to the old ways of doing things.”\n\n“Over the course of this entire campaign, we have laid out for the Bahamian people a clear record of what our administration has delivered over the past four and a half years,” he added. “We have shared our detailed plan for the next term, shown voters exactly what we will deliver in a second term, and invited every Bahamian to partner with us to build a stronger, more prosperous future for this country. My friends, I trust you will make the right choice. I trust you will stand with us and choose progress.”\n\nDavis also used his address to update attendees on his weekend meetings with delegations from three major international election observation missions: the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Organization of American States (OAS). Combined, the three organizations field observer teams representing 78 member nations, all deployed to monitor the fairness and transparency of Tuesday’s general election process. Davis welcomed the international observers, noting that independent international monitoring groups have supported Bahamian electoral processes for decades.\n\n“I am happy and proud to say that these observers continue to be deeply impressed by the strength of our democratic institutions here in The Bahamas,” Davis said. “They have already seen firsthand the passion and respect that Bahamian voters bring to the electoral process, and that is a testament to how far our democracy has come.”\n\nThe rally closed with a symbolic moment as Davis and his small group of senior colleagues joined hands on stage, with R. Kelly’s “Sign of a Victory” playing over the park’s speaker system to cap off the event. Former Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie, one of the PLP’s most respected elder statesmen, also joined the party leadership on stage to lead attendees in a closing prayer for victory, as crowd chants of support rang out across Montagu Park ahead of polling day.\n

  • Trump announces departure of food and drug regulation chief

    Trump announces departure of food and drug regulation chief

    Less than 18 months after taking office to lead a promised overhaul of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Commissioner Marty Makary has stepped down from his role, wrapping up a tenure marked by cross-cutting criticism and escalating political friction that culminated in his exit Tuesday.

    U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the departure to reporters in Washington, confirming long-running rumors that a leadership change at the powerful regulatory agency was imminent. Describing Makary as a “terrific guy” and “hard worker respected by all,” Trump pushed back against speculation that he had dismissed the FDA chief, noting Makary had submitted a formal resignation via text message that Trump later shared on his Truth Social platform. Kyle Diamantas, a former top food safety official at the agency, will step into the role as acting commissioner immediately, the president announced.

    A practicing surgeon and one-time Fox News contributor, Makary first rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as a vocal contrarian who pushed back against mainstream public health guidelines and institutional medical consensus. When he was tapped to lead the FDA 13 months prior, he campaigned on a platform of sweeping regulatory reform. But his time in office left few stakeholders satisfied, drawing backlash from industry leaders, political activists on both sides of key policy debates, and established public health experts alike.

    The final point of friction came over the Trump administration’s push to authorize the sale of fruit-flavored vapes, a policy Makary openly opposed over well-documented concerns that flavored e-cigarettes drive youth nicotine addiction. The administration moved forward with the policy despite Makary’s resistance, and the outgoing commissioner faced mounting pressure from the White House to sign off on the rule in recent weeks.

    Other flashpoints galvanized criticism across the political and ideological spectrum. Anti-abortion conservatives who have spent years targeting the abortion pill mifepristone—first approved by the FDA 25 years ago—slammed Makary for dragging his feet on completing a long-promised regulatory review of the drug. Major pharmaceutical industry executives faulted his efforts to restructure the FDA’s drug approval process, arguing the changes created unnecessary delays and bureaucratic confusion instead of streamlining oversight. Public health leaders, meanwhile, accused Makary of pandering to anti-vaccine activists after the agency released an unsubstantiated memo linking COVID-19 vaccines to excess deaths, a claim that ran counter to decades of peer-reviewed research on vaccine safety.

    Makary’s exit marks the latest high-profile shakeup at the Department of Health and Human Services, which is currently led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known vaccine skeptic who has overseen a wave of departures from traditional public health leadership roles across HHS’ major agencies. Recent months have seen vacancies at the top of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of the Surgeon General, as Kennedy has pushed to replace veteran public health officials with allies aligned with his anti-vaccine and deregulatory agenda.

    Peter Lurie, president of the nonpartisan food and health watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest, framed Makary’s departure as another symptom of institutional decay at the top of HHS. “This is just more chaos at a beleaguered, battered Department of Health and Human Services,” Lurie said. “When you don’t have a CDC Director, an FDA Commissioner, or a Surgeon General, the obvious question is: Why do you have this HHS Secretary? Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the cause of much of the chaos that has resulted in these job vacancies. HHS is rotting from the head.”

  • Bahamians voting for new government

    Bahamians voting for new government

    As the Bahamas heads to the polls for a snap general election on Tuesday, more than 209,000 registered Bahamian voters are set to determine the country’s next government, in a contest that could deliver the first consecutive term for a ruling administration in over 10 years. Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis, leader of the incumbent Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), called the election ahead of the constitutionally mandated deadline, betting on his administration’s policy track record to secure a second term.

    Pre-election polling from independent research firm Public Domain Research & Strategy points to a mixed political landscape that defies the country’s longstanding two-party duopoly. The survey places the PLP ahead of competitors among likely voters, holding 46% support, with the relatively new Coalition of Independents (COI) emerging as a surprising second at 22%, leaving the traditional opposition Free National Movement (FNM) trailing in third with just 18% support. Davis also leads the field as the most popular pick for prime minister, earning 42% backing from respondents likely to cast a ballot. Most voters surveyed expressed clear confidence that the electoral process will be free and fair, despite partisan tensions.

    Davis first led the PLP to a landslide victory in the 2021 general election, when the party captured 32 of 39 available parliamentary seats to oust the then-incumbent FNM administration. For this 2024 contest, the number of parliamentary seats up for grabs has expanded to 41. A majority of these seats – 25 in total – are based on the most populous island of New Providence, home to the capital Nassau, with five seats allocated to Grand Bahama and the remaining 11 spread across the country’s numerous smaller Family Islands, many of which group multiple small cays into single electoral districts.

    A major new change to this year’s electoral process is the introduction of biometric voting cards, a reform the Davis administration says is designed to modernize the country’s election infrastructure and reduce fraud. The rollout has not been without controversy, however: the opposition FNM has repeatedly claimed the new system is a deliberate ploy to manipulate the election outcome in the PLP’s favor. Tensions flared during advance voting held late last month, when the FNM alleged that thousands of eligible voters were incorrectly turned away from polling stations and disenfranchised. Officials from the Parliamentary Registration Department have pushed back on those claims, with Assistant Commissioner Denise Pinder saying she expects a seamless, well-organized voting process on election day. To ensure transparency, multiple international observer teams, including a delegation from the Caribbean Community (Caricom), are on the ground monitoring the voting and counting process.

    The 2024 election marks a breakthrough for the COI, a third-party movement that has capitalized on growing voter frustration with the two major parties to build a substantial following since the 2021 contest. Running on a platform of grassroots empowerment, anti-corruption enforcement, and stricter immigration controls, the COI is seeking to break the decades-old two-party system that has dominated Bahamian politics.

    Political analysts note that despite the PLP’s lead in pre-election polling, the final outcome remains far too uncertain to predict. If re-elected, Davis has pledged that his administration will deliver sweeping policy reforms, including expanded access to affordable housing, stronger legal protections for renters, broader healthcare coverage, new job training programs, and faster approval processes for small business owners and real estate developers. Key to his campaign is the Upskill Bahamas initiative, which promises to provide vocational training to 25,000 Bahamian workers by 2031, building on existing programs including the National Apprenticeship Programme.

    For the FNM, leader Michael Pintard has centered his campaign on attacking the incumbent government’s credibility, telling supporters that the PLP has broken its promises to the Bahamian people and betrayed public trust. Pintard has accused the Davis administration of repeatedly lying to voters and pledged that an FNM government would prioritize rooting out widespread corruption in public agencies if elected.

  • DCP Quashie Attends ACCP 40th Annual General Meeting & Conference In Suriname

    DCP Quashie Attends ACCP 40th Annual General Meeting & Conference In Suriname

    Paramaribo, Suriname – Top law enforcement leaders from across the Caribbean have gathered in the Suriname capital this week for the 40th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP), an event focused on tackling growing cross-border security challenges that threaten regional progress.

    Deputy Commissioner of Police Louisa Benjamin-Quashie is representing the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda at the five-day event, which runs from May 11 to 15, 2026. This gathering marks Quashie’s first attendance at the high-profile regional conference since assuming the role of Deputy Commissioner, bringing Antigua and Barbuda’s perspective to collective security conversations.

    The official opening ceremony kicked off on May 11 at Paramaribo’s Royal Torarica Resort, drawing commissioners of police, senior law enforcement command staff, national government representatives, and heads of local security agencies from across the Caribbean and Suriname. Attendees are convening to address a wide range of pressing security threats under this year’s central theme: “Organized Crime: Implications for Regional Development”.

    Over the course of the conference, participants will take part in a full schedule of plenary addresses, interactive panel discussions, and closed-door strategic working sessions. Key topics on the agenda include countering transnational organized criminal networks, curbing the illicit flow of firearms across regional borders, addressing the evolving threat of cybercrime, expanding the use of intelligence-led policing frameworks, deepening cross-border security cooperation, and exploring the responsible integration of artificial intelligence into modern law enforcement operations.

    For decades, the annual ACCP conference has functioned as a critical regional platform for forging stronger ties between Caribbean law enforcement bodies, aligning collaborative practices, and developing coordinated, collective strategies to counter emerging security risks that no single nation can address alone.

    In line with this shared mission, the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to building robust regional and international law enforcement partnerships. These partnerships, the force noted, are core to advancing public safety outcomes, boosting operational effectiveness across agencies, and upholding high professional policing standards across the entire Caribbean region.

  • Trump en Xi Jinping bereiden gesprekken voor over Iran, nucleaire wapens, handel en AI

    Trump en Xi Jinping bereiden gesprekken voor over Iran, nucleaire wapens, handel en AI

    On the eve of a landmark bilateral meeting that could reshape the trajectory of U.S.-China relations, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are preparing to sit down for their first in-person talks in more than half a year. The two-day summit, scheduled to kick off Thursday in Beijing, will tackle a sprawling agenda spanning everything from geopolitical hotspots like Iran and Taiwan to emerging global competition in artificial intelligence and global nuclear non-proliferation, according to senior U.S. officials. A top item on the agenda includes a potential extension of a critical trade agreement governing rare earth mineral exports that has kept bilateral trade tensions in check for months.

    Trump is set to arrive in the Chinese capital Wednesday, marking his first visit to the country as U.S. president since 2017. The overarching goal of the summit is to stabilize bilateral relations, which have been pushed to their breaking point in recent months by escalating trade disputes, growing friction over the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, and a wide range of other lingering policy disagreements.

    Diplomatic observers widely expect the two world powers to reach agreement on establishing new bilateral forums designed to boost cross-border trade and direct investment. Chinese officials are also preparing to announce new purchases of U.S. Boeing aircraft, American agricultural goods, and U.S. energy exports, according to sources familiar with the meeting’s planning. Formal unveiling of plans for a dedicated Trade Council and Investment Council is on the table, though the finer details of the new bodies will still require further negotiation after the summit concludes.

    One of the most consequential pending issues is the potential extension of the existing rare earth export truce between Beijing and Washington. While a final deal may not be locked in during this week’s talks, U.S. officials have expressed cautious confidence that the current agreement, reached last fall, will be extended to avoid new disruptions to global supply chains that rely on Chinese rare earth exports, a critical input for everything from electric vehicle batteries to defense technology.

    Beyond trade and economic cooperation, the summit will dive deep into a series of long-simmering sensitive geopolitical issues that have fueled decades of tension between the two global powers. Iran remains a core point of disagreement: China maintains deep economic and diplomatic ties to Tehran, and is one of the largest importers of Iranian crude oil. The U.S. is pushing China to use its considerable influence to pressure Iran into entering a peace agreement with Washington to end the ongoing conflict that reignited in February following U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets.

    U.S. concerns over China’s deepening strategic partnership with Russia will also be raised during the talks. U.S. officials have repeatedly raised alarms over reported Chinese shipments to Russia, including dual-use goods that can be repurposed for military applications, and have suggested the possibility of lethal weapons transfers as well.

    Taiwan remains one of the most intractable sticking points in the bilateral relationship. Beijing claims the self-governing, democratically ruled island as an inalienable part of its sovereign territory, and has significantly expanded military patrols and exercises in the Taiwan Strait in recent years. The U.S., meanwhile, remains Taiwan’s primary security partner and arms supplier, and U.S. officials confirm that longstanding U.S. policy toward the island will not change during the summit.

    Trump’s national security advisors have also raised growing alarms over the rapid development of cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems in China, and are pushing to open a formal bilateral dialogue on AI governance during the summit. The goal of these talks would be to establish clear communication channels to prevent misunderstandings or unintended conflicts stemming from the unregulated development and deployment of advanced AI.

    On the issue of nuclear arms control, Beijing has maintained a notably cautious stance. According to a senior U.S. official, the Chinese government has made clear it has no current interest in opening formal nuclear disarmament negotiations with the U.S.

    The last in-person meeting between Trump and Xi took place last October on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Busan, South Korea. At that meeting, the two leaders agreed to a temporary pause in the escalating bilateral trade conflict that had roiled global markets. That conflict had seen the U.S. impose sweeping new tariffs on Chinese imports, and sparked Chinese threats to restrict global exports of rare earth minerals, a move that would have caused massive disruption to manufacturing and tech sectors worldwide.

    In a separate development earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump exceeded his legal authority when imposing many of his global import tariffs. Despite that ruling, Trump has pledged to reimpose many of the tariffs through alternative legal pathways in the coming months.

  • Jamaica Court of Appeal upholds misconduct ruling against former Antigua DPP

    Jamaica Court of Appeal upholds misconduct ruling against former Antigua DPP

    In a landmark May 2024 ruling, Jamaica’s Court of Appeal has formally upheld a professional misconduct finding against Anthony Armstrong, a former Director of Public Prosecutions of Antigua and Barbuda, dismissing all eight grounds of his appeal challenging a disciplinary ruling over false document attestation.

    The legal dispute traces its origins back to a 2019 complaint lodged by Michael Adams, a man serving a U.S. prison sentence for drug-related offenses. Adams alleged that Armstrong had illicitly sold three of his Jamaican properties—located at Columbus Heights, Brompton Road, and Fairview Court—between 2004 and 2005 without his knowledge or formal authorization. While the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council (GLC) ultimately failed to prove broader allegations of fraudulent sales beyond a reasonable doubt, and confirmed Adams had previously authorized the transactions, the probe uncovered a critical breach of legal ethics rules.

    During cross-examination before the disciplinary panel, Armstrong openly admitted that he had signed property transfer documents as a witness to Adams’ signature, despite the fact that Adams was not physically present when the paperwork was executed. This admission directly put Armstrong in violation of Canon I(b) of the Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules, a core regulation that requires all practicing attorneys to uphold the honor and dignity of the legal profession and avoid any conduct that could bring the field into disrepute. The GLC disciplinary committee subsequently issued a reprimand, imposed a JMD $250,000 fine, and ordered Armstrong to cover $30,000 in GLC legal costs, labeling his actions “the height of recklessness.”

    Armstrong launched an appeal challenging this ruling on eight separate grounds, ranging from claims of abuse of process stemming from the 15-year gap between the property sales and the 2019 complaint, to temporary exclusion from portions of the virtual Zoom disciplinary hearing, alleged witness interference by the complainant’s legal team, claims of bias against the disciplinary panel chair, and objection to the hearing being held in private rather than open to the public.

    A three-justice panel comprising Justices Carol Edwards, Marcia Dunbar Green, and Georgiana Fraser rejected every one of Armstrong’s arguments. Writing the court’s 52-page official opinion, Justice Dunbar Green emphasized that even false attestation of a genuine signature inflicts lasting harm on the legal system: “A false attestation, even where the signature is genuine, undermines the reliability of legal documents and erodes public confidence in the profession.” The justice also rejected Armstrong’s defense that his long-standing familiarity with Adams’ signature from a prior transaction made his attestation acceptable, noting that “Attestation is not a speculative exercise in signature recognition; it is a solemn affirmation of presence and observation.”

    On the claim of prejudicial delay, the court ruled that while the 15-year gap between the conduct and the complaint was “inordinate,” it caused no material harm to Armstrong’s defense, as his direct admission of false attestation required no reconstruction of lost historical evidence. Regarding the temporary exclusions from the Zoom hearing, the court confirmed that Armstrong’s lead attorney Hugh Wildman remained present for all proceedings, no evidence was presented while Armstrong was absent, and no prejudice occurred. Claims of witness interference were also dismissed for lack of proof: the court found no evidence that contact from the complainant’s attorney had deterred the witness or altered testimony, and no substantive review of the communication’s content found wrongdoing.

    Allegations of bias against the disciplinary panel chair—who had previously worked at a firm involved in an unrelated earlier property transaction—were similarly rejected, with the court finding no financial interest in the outcome and no circumstances that would lead a reasonable observer to suspect bias. Finally, the court upheld the constitutionality of private disciplinary hearings under Rule 14 of the Legal Profession (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules, which requires private proceedings but public release of final findings, confirming the rule aligns with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

    Representing the GLC on appeal, King’s Counsel Sandra Minott-Phillips argued that the original misconduct finding was “unimpeachable, particularly in the light of the appellant’s own admission of dishonest conduct,” per the ruling. Minott-Phillips emphasized that attorney attestation is far more than a procedural formality: it constitutes a formal public affirmation that the attorney directly observed the signatory execute the document. When that affirmation is knowingly false, she argued, it creates severe risk for all parties who rely on the document’s integrity and unquestionably qualifies as professional misconduct. The Court of Appeal’s ruling left the original disciplinary sanctions fully intact, and ordered Armstrong to cover the GLC’s appeal legal fees.

  • I don’t know, says Lee

    I don’t know, says Lee

    A growing corruption controversy surrounding Trinidad and Tobago’s $3.4 billion suspended housing development program has put the government in the spotlight, after a local newspaper exposed an attempted bribe to scrap an investigative report into alleged bid-rigging at the state-run Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

    The Sunday Express, the outlet that broke the story, revealed that a self-described intermediary for an HDC official under investigation arranged a closed-door meeting with the paper’s investigative journalist Mark Bassant last Thursday on Ariapita Avenue in Woodbrook. During the meeting, the intermediary, a well-known figure in local political circles, offered a substantial cash compensation package to Bassant on the condition that the outlet drop the story entirely. In addition to the payout, the man also promised the journalist exclusive internal documents detailing alleged mismanagement of the HDC during the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration, according to the report.

    The intermediary explicitly noted that senior figures at the HDC wanted to avoid the negative public scrutiny that would come from the publication of the collusion allegations. The Sunday Express immediately rejected the bribe offer, reiterating that the probe into the HDC contract awards is a matter of critical public interest that demands full transparency.

    The sequence of events that led to the attempted bribe began last week, after the newspaper received complaints of collusion in the awarding of two large contracts under the housing program. Reporters then sent formal questions to both the implicated HDC official and the two contractors that received the contracts. The day after the queries were sent, the intermediary reached out to the paper, claiming the HDC official was willing to discuss the contract issue openly, and arranged Thursday’s meeting.

    Following the publication of the report on Sunday, Housing Minister David Lee moved quickly to distance himself from the entire affair. When contacted by the outlet for official comment, Lee stated he had no prior knowledge of any bribe attempt or the underlying allegations of collusion. He emphasized that as the cabinet minister overseeing the housing portfolio, he does not interfere in the daily operations of the HDC or any other state agency under his jurisdiction, nor does he involvement in any public procurement processes managed by those entities.

    In response to the newspaper’s investigation, legal action has already been threatened by one of the two contractors. Last Thursday afternoon, Denelle S Singh, an attorney based in Chaguanas, submitted a pre-action protocol letter to the Sunday Express on behalf of the contractor and his firm. The letter denies all collusion allegations and warns that the contractor will file a lawsuit if the outlet publishes his client’s name in connection with the story.

    The second contractor, who secured a multi-million-dollar contract under the program and spoke briefly with Bassant earlier that week, took a different approach. In a detailed set of responses sent via WhatsApp late Friday evening, the contractor said his company is unable to release any information related to confidential client relationships, commercial agreements, or project-specific details unless compelled by law or given formal permission by all relevant involved parties.

  • Young slams Govt over Pt Lisas plant shutdowns

    Young slams Govt over Pt Lisas plant shutdowns

    A sharp political backlash has hit the ruling administration of Trinidad and Tobago over its stewardship of the country’s critical energy industry, with former energy minister Stuart Young leveling sweeping accusations of incompetence, policy missteps and regulatory negligence that he warns threaten thousands of jobs, critical foreign exchange revenue and long-term investor confidence. Young made the allegations public in a detailed Facebook post published over the weekend, targeting both Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissesar and current Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal for a series of missteps that have already disrupted operations at the country’s key Point Lisas Industrial Estate, where major global petrochemical players operate.

    At the core of Young’s criticism is the government’s revised natural gas allocation policy, which he argues has diverted critical gas supplies away from established ammonia and methanol producers at Point Lisas to Atlantic LNG, a move driven purely by the short-term appeal of elevated global LNG prices. Young calls this decision a short-sighted and fundamentally flawed policy that has already forced operational shutdowns at a nitrogen plant run by Nutrien, one of the world’s largest fertiliser manufacturers, and prompted major methanol producer Methanex to issue explicit warnings that it could be forced to shutter its operations next if the current policy framework remains in place.

    Young emphasized that the current administration’s mismanagement unfolded in less than a year in office, tying the industrial disruptions directly to what he describes as the government’s fundamental ignorance of how the energy sector operates, as well as eroded business confidence among international investors that have long anchored Trinidad and Tobago’s industrial energy economy. “In less than a year Kamla Persad-Bissesar’s incompetence and mismanagement of the energy sector has led to the shut-down of the plants of one of the largest global fertiliser companies Nutrien, at Pt Lisas, and now one of the largest global methanol producers Methanex is signalling that they may follow suit,” Young wrote in his post.

    Beyond the gas allocation controversy, Young also took aim at Moonilal over the delayed response to an offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Paria first detected on May 1. He accused the minister of failing to detect and disclose the spill for nine days, noting that the incident was only publicly confirmed by the Trinidad and Tobago government after Venezuelan authorities exposed the spill. “It is clear that Moonilal has no say—in fact, sadly, as Minister of Energy he did not even know the oil assets under his stewardship were responsible for an oil spill on May 1 and it took the Venezuelans exposing the spill for the government to tell us today, May 10 (9 days later), that there was an offshore oil spill. Total incompetence or dishonesty,” Young said.

    Young also raised serious legal questions about the leadership of the National Gas Company (NGC), the state-owned entity responsible for managing the country’s gas supplies, arguing that the board and senior management will face fiduciary legal scrutiny over the controversial policy shifts that have triggered the industrial shutdowns. “Furthermore, the board at NGC has serious legal questions to answer as in a few short months under their tenure major petroleum chemical companies at Pt Lisas have shut down and are indicating further shut downs which are due to the change in gas allocation policies at NGC. These decisions will be subject to legal fiduciary scrutiny of the board and management at NGC,” he added.

    Closing his statement, Young left a provocative question for both the administration and the public of Trinidad and Tobago, challenging the government’s record on one of the country’s most economically vital sectors: “So once again Trinidad and Tobago, who exactly is winning?” Young warned that if the current policy course is not reversed, the full consequences will be felt across the national economy: permanent job losses at Point Lisas, permanent reductions in critical foreign exchange earnings, collapse of local service companies that support the petrochemical sector, and a lasting drought of foreign direct investment in the country’s energy industry.