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  • $23 000 fine for firearm and ammunition

    $23 000 fine for firearm and ammunition

    In a landmark ruling that underscores Barbados’ intensified crackdown on illegal gun violence, a first-time offender has received a $23,000 total fine, with a senior judge stressing that new harsher sentencing laws are designed to stem the rising tide of preventable deaths among young men in the country.

    Keshawn Kadarah Callender was handed down the penalty this week in connection with weapons offences dating back to November 26, 2024. He was ordered to pay an immediate $20,000 fine for unlawful possession of a loaded .380-calibre Kel Tec automatic pistol, with an additional $3,000 fine for possession of three rounds of ammunition. If Callender fails to pay the immediate firearm fine, he will face four years and 46 days of prison time. For the ammunition fine, he has until January 29, 2027 to satisfy the penalty, after which he will serve 289 days at Dodds Prison, with all custodial sentences running concurrently if they come into effect.

    Presiding Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell centered her ruling around recently passed amendments to Barbados’ Firearms Act, which now mandate a minimum 10-year prison sentence and maximum 20-year prison term for a first illegal firearms possession conviction. The justice explained that the parliamentary amendment, which raises baseline penalties for gun offences, directly responds to a persistent public safety crisis that has disproportionately claimed the lives of young men across local communities.

    “This recent amendment by Parliament, which increases the penalty for firearm possession, reflects the fact that the illegal possession and use of firearms, resulting in the loss of life, primarily of young males in our communities, continue to plague society and it is the State’s intention to arrest this behaviour,” Justice Smith-Bovell said in court.

    The judge noted several aggravating factors in Callender’s case: the weapon was loaded, fully functional, and Callender made a conscious choice to obtain and hold the illegal firearm at a time when such offences are endemic across the island. She also reaffirmed a core principle of Barbadian law: there is no constitutional or legal right for private citizens to bear arms.

    “The indiscriminate possession and use of firearms are wreaking havoc in our society. This behaviour of illegally acquiring firearms for whatever reason must be stamped out,” she added.

    While starting the sentencing calculation with a 10-year custodial term for the firearms offence and a five-year term for the ammunition possession charge, Justice Smith-Bovell applied significant reductions to account for multiple mitigating circumstances. These included Callender’s clean prior criminal record, expressions of remorse for his actions, and the absence of any evidence linking the seized firearm to other criminal activities. Additional deductions were made for Callender’s early guilty plea and the 684 days he has already spent in pre-trial detention.

    After accounting for these factors, Justice Smith-Bovell concluded that a custodial sentence was not the only outcome that could deliver fair justice in this case, ultimately opting for the substantial fines instead.

    The case was prosecuted by Acting Senior State Counsel Paul Prescod in the No. 4 Supreme Court, with defence counsel Shadia Simpson representing Callender during proceedings.

    Court proceedings detailed how the weapons were discovered: law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Callender’s residence on Rogers Road, Ivy, St Michael. When officers arrived, a female relative told them Callender was not present at the home. In the presence of that relative and a second family member, police conducted a search of the property and located a red haversack hidden in the home’s ceiling. As officers pulled the bag down, a silver and black pistol fitted with an extended magazine fell to the floor.

    After Callender was detained and brought back to the residence to view the recovered weapon, he immediately admitted ownership, court records show. Officers also found a national identification card and driver’s license, both issued in Callender’s name, inside the haversack alongside the weapon.

  • HR pros urged to embrace AI without losing human focus

    HR pros urged to embrace AI without losing human focus

    As artificial intelligence continues to reshape routine corporate functions across industries, human resource leaders in Barbados are calling on HR professionals to redefine their core value, shifting away from administrative tasks that can be automated and leaning into uniquely human skills that technology cannot replicate. The call to action came during the 2026 biennial People Development Conference, held Wednesday at the Hilton Barbados Resort under the overarching theme “Workforce 2030: Ready or Not”. The event also marked the 30th anniversary of the Human Resource Management Association of Barbados (HRMAB) Incorporated, a milestone that underscores the organization’s longstanding commitment to advancing people development across the Caribbean nation.

    In her keynote address, Tisha Peters, president of HRMAB, used a relatable analogy from the aviation industry to illustrate the evolving role of HR in an AI-driven workplace. Peters, an avid aviation enthusiast, explained that even the most advanced modern commercial aircraft rely heavily on skilled human pilots: while automation handles routine flight operations, pilots must master how these systems work and retain the expertise to take manual control when unexpected challenges arise. The same logic, she argued, applies directly to human resources.

    “Technology will not replace people, but people who master technology will replace those who do not, and that includes all of us,” Peters told conference delegates. She emphasized that as AI increasingly absorbs repetitive administrative HR tasks, professionals in the field must move beyond these routine functions to claim a more strategic, value-driven seat at their organizations’ leadership tables.

    To back her argument, Peters cited two high-profile case studies of AI adoption gone awry. She pointed to global fintech firm Klarna, which made headlines in 2024 when it announced that an in-house AI assistant had taken over the duties of 700 full-time customer service agents. The move backfired, however, when overall customer service quality declined sharply, forcing the company to reverse course and rehire hundreds of human workers. She also referenced U.S. tech company Bolt, which restructured its entire operations around AI in 2024, cutting its global workforce from 2,500 employees to just 100 and eliminating its entire human resources department entirely. The Bolt example, Peters said, raises critical questions about how many organizations undervalue the unique contributions of the HR profession.

    “The answer is very simple. If all our HR departments do is what a chatbot can do for free, we would not be surprised when the company chooses a chatbot,” she said.

    Beyond redefining HR’s core role, Peters called on employers across all sectors to overhaul outdated recruitment practices that fail to align with the fast-changing pace of technological innovation. She called out the common problem of job postings that demand 10 years of professional experience in emerging tech fields that have only existed for a fraction of that time. Instead of hiring exclusively based on past experience, she urged employers to prioritize candidates’ learning potential, and to look inward to train existing employees to fill newly created roles that did not exist a decade ago.

    “We have to stop hiring exclusively for what people have done and start hiring for what they can learn,” she said.

    Peters laid out three core guiding principles for HR professionals navigating the AI transition: keep people at the center of all technology adoption, embed continuous learning into daily workplace culture, and lead organizational digital transformation from the front. She stressed that the ultimate purpose of digital tools in HR is to free professionals from tedious work, allowing them to focus on high-impact human interactions: difficult performance conversations, one-on-one employee coaching, and intentional, empathetic care for team members.

    “Every digital tool we adopt should exist to free up our time for human work, for the hard conversations, the coaching, and the intentional care. If a tool makes your HR department less human, you are using the wrong tool,” Peters said. She closed her address by challenging every attending delegate to learn at least one new AI tool, use it to streamline or automate a tedious repetitive task, and then pass that knowledge on to a colleague to build collective capability across the industry.

    Barbados Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan also addressed the conference, echoing many of Peters’ concerns and expanding on the broader societal implications of AI-driven workplace change. Jordan emphasized that HR professionals hold a critical responsibility to ensure that technological progress does not come at the cost of workers’ wellbeing and dignity. He also warned against a common pitfall for HR teams: becoming so focused on aligning with senior management that they lose the trust of frontline employees, who no longer feel comfortable bringing workplace concerns to the HR department.

    “I’m not saying to you that you abandon discipline. I’m saying to you that you apply discipline in a human way,” Jordan told delegates.

    The minister also outlined key emerging workplace challenges that HR leaders must prepare for, including the growing prevalence of hybrid work models, which have brought new issues such as elevated workplace stress, employee burnout, social isolation among remote teams, and blurred lines between professional and personal life. He added that the rapid expansion of gig and platform-based work has also upended long-standing norms around employment relationships, worker protection, and collective social dialogue.

    Jordan highlighted a major global policy development addressing this shift: in June 2024, the International Labour Organisation adopted a new global convention focused on guaranteeing decent work for platform economy workers, which sets clear standards for working conditions, legal protections, and fundamental labor rights in the sector. Jordan shared that two Barbadian experts contributed to the development of the convention, and he himself chaired the ILO’s standard-setting committee that drafted the framework.

    Jordan framed the current moment of workplace transformation not as a question of if technology will change work, but of whether global societies can equip workers and organizations to adapt successfully to that change. He noted that building a fair, functional future of work requires coordinated action across all sectors: governments must develop forward-looking policy frameworks, employers and workers must embrace intentional adaptation, and educational institutions must revise curricula to prepare learners for the emerging job market. People development and HR professionals, he said, must lead workplace transformation, while all stakeholders commit to open, collaborative social dialogue to protect workers’ rights amid change.

  • Sentencing delayed in security firm burglary case

    Sentencing delayed in security firm burglary case

    A major court hearing for a former security company employee who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a 2015 aggravated burglary has hit a delay, after a judge rejected outdated medical evidence submitted by the defense and ordered new documentation and witness testimony from treating physicians.

    Forty-five-year-old Morivia Samantha Syana Gittens, a resident of Haynesville in St. James, previously entered a guilty plea to charges that she conspired with an unidentified man to carry out the burglary at her former workplace on September 1, 2015. Her sentencing was originally scheduled to take place this Wednesday at the No. 3A Supreme Court, but the proceeding was put on hold after Gittens’ defense attorney, Sian Lange, submitted medical records from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital outlining multiple serious respiratory and other chronic conditions that Gittens is living with.

    The records provided included a patient discharge note and a formal assessment from the hospital’s respiratory unit, but all documentation was dated back to April of this year. Justice Anthony Blackman, the presiding judge in the case, ruled that the information was not current enough to inform his sentencing decision. He ordered the adjournment, pushing the sentencing (and any potential examination of the treating doctors) back to October 28.

    “The matter will be adjourned until October 28 to hear from the doctors and possibly make sentencing remarks on the same day,” Blackman stated during Wednesday’s hearing.

    The prosecution is being handled by Principal State Counsel Joyann Catwell and acting Senior State Counsel Treann Knight. Court testimony has already laid out the full sequence of events that led to Gittens’ arrest and guilty plea. According to court records, after the burglary took place, Gittens cooperated with investigators and led them to her home, where officers found a hand-drawn sketch of the security firm’s ground-floor office layout. A circular mark was placed on the drawing to indicate the location of the firearms storage drawer.

    When questioned about the sketch, Gittens told police that the man she conspired with had drawn the layout while staying at her home. In her official statement, she recounted that when she asked him what he was planning, he admitted he was organizing a robbery. Gittens claimed she initially told him the plan would not succeed, but ultimately cooperated after he pressed her for details about the office layout, security protocols, and the location of cash and weapons. She acknowledged that she confirmed guns were stored in the office, told him that the cash-in-transit supervisor took all office keys with him when he left each day, and marked the exact location of the gun drawer on his sketch.

    On the night of the burglary, Gittens was working alone at the office. She told investigators that she and her co-conspirator exchanged two phone calls before the robbery. Around 11:55 p.m., the doorbell rang, and when Gittens answered the intercom, a man claiming to be dropping off a sick leave note requested entry. Gittens buzzed him in, and two masked men in hoodies rushed inside. One man held Gittens in the entryway while the second moved to the back of the office to steal the pre-marked weapons. After the men grabbed the stolen property and fled, Gittens contacted her supervisor and local law enforcement.

    During her police interrogation, Gittens admitted that she was aware the men were coming to rob the office, but claimed she was forced into cooperating. She acknowledged that she had told the co-conspirator how to avoid detection by the office security cameras, confirming her advance knowledge of the plan. When asked why she agreed to participate in the crime, Gittens cited overwhelming personal debt, including money she owed to a local business, a credit union, and her landlord.

    Lead investigator Sergeant Leroy Willoughby told the court Wednesday that law enforcement has recovered all four firearms stolen during the burglary, along with two stolen bulletproof vests and three holsters. However, 33 of the 78 rounds of stolen ammunition have not yet been recovered, and remain unaccounted for.

    The case will resume late next month when the court receives the updated medical evidence, after which Justice Blackman will hand down his formal sentence.

  • Van historische uitbuiting naar moderne afhankelijkheid: De geschiedenis herhaalt zich

    Van historische uitbuiting naar moderne afhankelijkheid: De geschiedenis herhaalt zich

    Decades after achieving formal political independence, Suriname faces a lingering, uncomfortable question that forces a reckoning with its colonial past: is the nation truly free, or has historical exploitation merely taken on a new, modern form?

    History, as the opinion piece argues, has a clear pattern of repeating itself – albeit in updated guises. Centuries ago, European colonial powers arrived on Suriname’s shores, establishing a deeply unequal exchange: Indigenous communities were lured with cheap trinkets like mirrors and beads, while vast stores of valuable natural resources and national wealth were extracted and shipped back to European capitals.

    Today, this same dynamic has reemerged through a 21st-century framework, author Fabio Grosso claims. Foreign investors and multinational corporations now court Suriname’s political leaders with indirect incentives, from ice sculptures and luxury gifts to all-expenses-paid foreign trips, while framing their arrival as a pathway to broad-based economic growth, new job opportunities, national development and long-term progress. These promises resonate deeply with a Surinamese population, large segments of which hold out hope for improved living conditions and expanded economic mobility.

    But behind these glowing pledges lies a critical, unresolved question: who ultimately reaps the greatest benefit from Suriname’s abundant natural wealth?

    Grosso points to a stark statistic to underscore his concern: when foreign firms extract Suriname’s natural resources and generate massive profits, as much as 95% of those earnings flow out of the country to foreign shareholders and headquarters. This reality forces a hard examination of whether the Surinamese people are actually able to enjoy the benefits of the natural assets that lie beneath their own soil.

    While job creation from foreign investment is important, Grosso argues that employment alone is no guarantee of broad national prosperity. A country can see new jobs added while still losing most of the long-term value of its natural resource endowment, if the terms of extraction are not structured to prioritize the interests of the local population.

    This comparison to the colonial era is not a historical analogy for effect – it is a warning, Grosso emphasizes. The tools of extraction have changed, the rhetoric of development has replaced open colonial aggression, and global economic structures look very different today than they did centuries ago. But the core risk of unequal power dynamics remains. Where colonial powers once traded cheap manufactured goods for Suriname’s gold and other precious resources, modern Suriname risks accepting temporary jobs and vague promises of economic opportunity without putting in place safeguards to ensure that the true value of its natural wealth stays within the country to benefit its people.

    Grosso stresses that Suriname must not fall back into its historical role as a supplier of raw wealth for foreign powers, while its own population is left on the sidelines, excluded from the benefits of their national heritage.

    Suriname’s abundant natural resources should not only generate profits for foreign corporations, Grosso argues. They must also deliver tangible, long-term benefits to the Surinamese people: funding for sustainable development, expanded access to high-quality education, improved public healthcare, modern public infrastructure, support for growing local businesses, and long-term financial security for future generations of Surinamese.

    Achieving this outcome requires intentional, forward-looking policy, Grosso notes. It demands transparent contract negotiations with foreign investors, fair tax arrangements that ensure a just share of profits stays in Suriname, strict enforcement of environmental protection regulations, requirements for knowledge and technology transfer to local workers and businesses, and a clear national strategy to build a stronger, more economically independent Suriname.

    At its core, true national progress is not measured by the number of foreign investors that set up operations within a country’s borders, or by the volume of natural resources extracted each year. Instead, Grosso argues, progress is measured by the quality of life of the country’s population, the economic opportunities available to young people, and the degree to which a nation retains full control over its own economic future.

    Suriname is blessed with rich natural resources beneath its soil, but that wealth must translate to a richer, more dignified life for all of its citizens, Grosso writes. Learning the lessons of history is essential to ensure that future generations do not end up paying the price for wealth that only benefits foreign actors. Political independence only carries real meaning when it is paired with economic self-determination, justice, and full local control over the nation’s own natural wealth.

    Suriname is not a commodity to be sold off or exploited to depletion. It is the home of the Surinamese people, their shared cultural heritage, and the birthright of their children. That is why the central question facing the nation is not how much wealth can be pulled from its soil, but how much of that wealth actually returns to benefit the Surinamese people. A nation is only truly wealthy when its natural resources do not just create value for the global economy, but deliver widespread well-being for its own citizens.

  • Achievement Learning Centre advances digital inclusion through sustainable technologies partnership

    Achievement Learning Centre advances digital inclusion through sustainable technologies partnership

    A major milestone for educational equity in Dominica has been reached, as the Achievement Learning Centre (ALC) has formally taken delivery of its first batch of educational technology equipment through the national Sustainable Technologies Partnership Program. This delivery signals the end of the initiative’s multi-year preparation stage and the official start of on-the-ground implementation.

  • VAT-Free Days: Friday, 30 and Saturday, 31 October

    VAT-Free Days: Friday, 30 and Saturday, 31 October

    The Government of Grenada is moving forward with its promise to ease strained household budgets, with the Ministry of Finance officially confirming that the last two days of October 2026 — Friday the 30th and Saturday the 31st — will be held as tax-free shopping days across all three of the country’s territories: Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique.

    This upcoming weekend of zero Value-Added Tax marks the conclusion of a six-day VAT-Free initiative that forms a core part of the administration’s broader Cost-of-Living Assistance Programme. Launched in response to growing household expenses across the tri-island nation, the programme has two overlapping goals: bring immediate financial relief to struggling families, and keep local economic activity moving amid broader cost pressures.

    The initiative is not limited to temporary tax-free shopping days. The government has already rolled out several complementary measures to cut energy costs for residents and businesses alike. It has expanded and raised the electricity subsidy to $50 for any customer that consumes 200 kilowatt-hours or less per billing cycle, fully removed VAT from all electricity bills for both residential consumers and commercial operators, and eliminated the Customs Service Charge applied to diesel imported for power generation.

    Public response to the first four VAT-Free days held earlier in the programme has been robust, with high turnout from shoppers across the islands. Building on that momentum, the Ministry of Finance projects that both consumers and local businesses will see tangible benefits from the October event: shoppers will gain extra purchasing power for planned big-ticket or necessary purchases, while local retailers will see a boost in sales activity.

    Mike Sylvester, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, emphasized that the package of relief measures represents the government’s consistent focus on delivering tangible support to citizens while lifting up the local business community. “Alongside the cuts to rising energy costs and our caps on retail fuel prices, these VAT-Free days show our ongoing commitment to putting practical relief in the hands of Grenadians,” Sylvester explained. “The official orders establishing the tax-free days will be published in this week’s government gazette, and we encourage all households to start planning early to make the most of this opportunity responsibly.”

    Full details of which goods qualify for the VAT exemption, which participating retailers are participating, and the full terms and conditions of the initiative are posted on the Ministry of Finance’s official website at finance.gd, and will be updated regularly across the ministry’s social media channels. Officials have urged consumers to map out planned purchases in advance, prioritize necessary spending to align with household budgets, and review all official guidance before heading to shops to take advantage of the tax break.

    Going forward, the Government of Grenada reaffirmed its commitment to rolling out targeted, evidence-based measures that deliver meaningful financial support to households while encouraging sustained economic growth across all three of its islands.

  • Temporary closure: Magistracy Department

    Temporary closure: Magistracy Department

    The Magistracy Department of the State of Grenada has issued an official announcement altering operational hours for all court offices across the jurisdiction next year, in a gesture to commemorate the life and legacy of a beloved former team member.

    Per the official public notice, every court location throughout the state will suspend services early, closing their doors to the public at noon on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Regular administrative and judicial operations will resume as scheduled the following business day, Friday, October 16, 2026, when all offices will reopen at 8 a.m. to handle standard public and court-related matters.

    In the statement, the department extended its sincere gratitude to the people of Grenada for their anticipated understanding, patience, and support as the institution navigates this period of loss. The notice ends with a standard content disclaimer from NOW Grenada, the platform hosting the announcement: the outlet does not take responsibility for opinions, statements, or third-party contributed media content published on its site, and provides a reporting pathway for users to flag any abusive content violations.

  • Early closure: District Revenue Offices in St Mark and St John

    Early closure: District Revenue Offices in St Mark and St John

    A temporary adjustment to public service operating hours has been announced by the Accountant General’s Division under Grenada’s Ministry of Finance, alerting residents and visitors that all District Revenue Office locations across the parishes of St Mark and St John will wrap up operations at 12:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, 15 October 2026.

    The early closure is not a result of service cuts or technical issues, but rather to allow all assigned administrative and operational officers to participate in official celebrations for World Credit Union Day, an annual observance that recognizes the critical role credit unions play in expanding access to financial services and supporting community economic development worldwide.

    Full standard public service hours will be restored the following business day, Friday, 16 October 2026, with all revenue-related services including tax filings, permit processing, and payment collections returning to their regular schedules. The Accountant General’s Division has urged all community members to adjust their planned visits around this temporary schedule change to avoid unnecessary disruption to their personal or business administrative tasks.

    In a public statement released this week, the division extended a formal apology for any inconvenience this short-term adjustment may cause, and expressed its gratitude for the public’s ongoing understanding and cooperation. This notice comes as part of the Ministry of Finance’s ongoing commitment to transparent communication with the public about changes to government service operations.

    The statement was published by NOW Grenada, which notes that it is not liable for the content and statements shared by contributing government entities, and invites community members to report any abusive content linked to its platform through the designated reporting channel.

  • Twee pluimveebedrijven uit quarantaine, besmet bedrijf blijft gesloten

    Twee pluimveebedrijven uit quarantaine, besmet bedrijf blijft gesloten

    An H5 bird flu outbreak in Suriname has triggered strict quarantine and monitoring measures for local poultry farms, with partial progress reported in containing the spread as of mid-October. Of the five poultry operations placed under lockdown after the outbreak was detected, two have already been cleared to resume normal activities, according to Suriname’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (LVV). Officials project that two more will have their quarantine orders lifted next week, but the farm where the initial infection was confirmed will remain closed indefinitely until all necessary protocols are completed. So far, authorities have found no evidence that the virus has spread beyond the original infection site, the ministry confirmed.

    Acting Director of Livestock Gerald Tjon A San told Suriname’s Communication Service (CDS) on Wednesday, October 14, that all suspect poultry farms tested to date have returned negative results for avian influenza. Despite this encouraging early finding, all existing containment measures remain fully in effect to guard against unexpected spread.

    LVV inspectors carry out daily surveillance checks within a 7-kilometer radius around the index infected farm. They are also auditing all sites that may have received potentially contaminated materials from the affected operation, a step designed to stop any hidden spread of the virus. The index farm will only be released from quarantine after all required eradication and disinfection work is finished, and all contaminated material has been safely neutralized, officials noted.

    While early test results have been favorable, Tjon A San emphasized that it is far too early to declare the outbreak fully under control. A mandatory 28 to 30 day observation period must be completed before officials can confirm the virus is contained, he explained. To date, authorities have not yet identified the exact viral subtype or traced the origin of the outbreak. To get definitive answers, samples must be sent to an overseas reference laboratory for advanced testing, but the shipment is still awaiting final approval and depends on available testing capacity at the facility. “Until we get those results back from the reference lab, we cannot say for certain where this virus came from,” Tjon A San said.

    The LVV has issued an urgent call for all local poultry farmers to strictly adhere to mandatory biosecurity protocols at their operations. Key recommendations include regular cleaning of hands and work boots, and the use of dedicated clothing when entering poultry barns to reduce cross-contamination risks. The ministry has also ramped up inspection efforts at border crossings to crack down on illegal imports of poultry products, a common vector for introducing avian influenza to new regions. Until the full observation period concludes and the index farm is fully decontaminated, continuous close monitoring of the situation will remain a top priority for Suriname’s agricultural and public health authorities.

  • State sheds ‘loss-making’ firms

    State sheds ‘loss-making’ firms

    The government of Trinidad and Tobago is moving forward with plans to offload three underperforming state-owned commercial assets, with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar confirming that requests for proposals (RFPs) for the divestment of Hilton Trinidad, Tobago’s Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, and National Quarries Ltd will be issued in the near term. Persad-Bissessar announced the policy push during a sod-turning ceremony for a new $500 million Marriott Resort at Tobago’s Rocky Point, explaining that public finances can no longer sustain companies that consistently drain taxpayer funds without turning a profit.

    Persad-Bissessar noted that the state has a well-documented poor track record of running profitable commercial enterprises, framing the planned divestments as a logical step to shift these assets into private hands, where new ownership can inject capital, restructure operations, and restore profitability. “We can’t keep using taxpayer dollars to keep them afloat,” she emphasized. “The private sector can take them over, restructure, invest and make them profitable. The Government has to be removed from some of these loss-making companies for them to become profitable.”

    In line with this strategy, the prime minister pointed to the dire financial state of the entities up for sale to justify the move. She highlighted that National Quarries currently spends $350 to produce each unit of aggregate, only to sell it for $150 – a loss-making model she described as indefensible. For the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, low tourist occupancy has already forced management to furlough up to 50 workers for at least one month, with Persad-Bissessar acknowledging the property has fallen into significant disrepair. She also aligned with Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Farley Augustine’s position that “the business of Government is not in running hotels”, confirming that early investor outreach for the Hilton Trinidad divestment has already taken place. While LABIDCO, the La Brea-based development entity, has been flagged as a potential future divestment, the prime minister confirmed it remains under active review and has not been added to the immediate sales list.

    Persad-Bissessar drew a clear distinction between these commercial assets and the state-owned Guaracara Refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre, which the government has ruled out for divestment. She explained the refinery holds unique strategic importance, explaining it is “directly connected to our energy security and national security priorities”, a status the three assets marked for sale do not share. The government is currently advancing plans for a phased restart of the refinery while evaluating investment proposals from interested private partners, outlining a divestment framework that separates strategically critical national assets from commercial operations that can be better run by the private sector.

    Notably, the prime minister declined to share key details of the planned sales, including the valuation of the assets, asking price for potential buyers, pre-qualification requirements for bidders, or whether the government will retain a minority stake in any of the companies after the divestment process.

    The announcement has already drawn pushback from organized labor. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents workers at Hilton Trinidad, released a statement voicing grave concern over the proposed sale. The union noted that workers at the hotel only recently emerged from a period of uncertainty over the property’s future, and are now facing another round of untransparent speculation with no clear assurances for their livelihoods. CWU Secretary General Joanne Ogeer demanded the government provide full clarity on how the sale will impact existing jobs, collective bargaining rights, employee accrued benefits, and the continuity of employment for all staff under any new ownership or management structure. Just last month, the government signed a new six-month management agreement for Hilton Trinidad that secured jobs for more than 300 existing employees.