标签： Trinidad and Tobago

A senior retired Caribbean judicial figure has reignited debate over regional governance of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), urging an independent judicial inquiry to investigate the court’s internal administrative processes amid damaging public allegations against its sitting president. Former Senate president and retired Appeal Court judge Timothy Hamel-Smith has publicly argued that a formal probe is non-negotiable to preserve public trust in the CCJ, the region’s premier appellate and constitutional court.

Trinidad and Tobago’s main opposition political party, the People’s National Movement (PNM), has put the ruling People’s National Congress (UNC)-led administration under pressure over three high-stakes issues during a post-General Council press briefing held at the party’s Port of Spain headquarters, Balisier House. PNM Chairman Marvin Gonzales led the questioning, flanked by deputy chairman Sanjiv Boodhu and Diego Martin West Member of Parliament Hans des Vignes, opening with demands for clarity on the unexplained absence of top law enforcement official Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro.

Gonzales directly addressed Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, calling for public answers to four core questions: Where is Commissioner Guevarro currently located? Is he still within Trinidad and Tobago’s national jurisdiction? If he has left the country, when did his departure take place? And has an acting commissioner been formally appointed to carry out the role’s responsibilities during his absence?

Citing unconfirmed intelligence received by the PNM, Gonzales claimed Guevarro had already left the country, and alleged that the Police Service Commission (PSC), the body constitutionally tasked with overseeing police leadership appointments, had failed to fulfill its legal obligation to name an interim replacement. He also called on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who serves as chair of the National Security Council, to issue a public explanation for the lack of transparency around the absence.

A senior, anonymous police source later confirmed that Guevarro had been granted emergency personal leave, but could not verify whether the commissioner had traveled abroad. This is not the first time Guevarra has been out of the country: in October 2025, during an official trip to an international law enforcement conference in Denver, Colorado, Deputy Commissioner Junior Benjamin was formally appointed acting commissioner for the full week of Guevarro’s absence, from October 16 to 22.

Shifting focus to the government’s proposed artificial intelligence data center project in Golconda, Gonzales launched a scathing attack, labeling the plan “absolutely ridiculous” and questioning whether the administration has followed proper legal and procedural protocols. He said the government has failed to answer critical public questions about the project, including what environmental impact assessments have been completed, whether the region can support the facility’s significant water demand, and what approvals have been secured from relevant regulatory bodies.

Gonzales highlighted growing global pushback against large-scale data centers, noting that jurisdictions across the United States, Europe, China, and the United Kingdom have introduced new restrictions or even bans on the facilities over documented harms to local communities and livelihoods. He questioned whether Trinidad and Tobago was being positioned as a “dumping ground” for high-impact commercial projects that other nations have rejected, and criticized the government for failing to conduct meaningful consultations with local residents before announcing the plan.

He went further to accuse Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal, who has publicly championed the project, of acting irresponsibly and violating his oath of office, which requires all ministers to uphold the country’s constitution and laws. Gonzales warned that the PNM would take an uncompromising stance on the issue, and pledged to defend Golconda residents if Moonilal continues to fail to represent the interests of his constituency.

The final issue raised at the press conference centered on a sealed unexplained wealth case linked to PNM headquarters at Balisier House. Gonzales accused ruling party Senator Anil Roberts of breaking court-imposed gag rules by discussing details of the sealed court documents during a recent appearance on state-owned television and radio. He confirmed that the PNM would not deviate from legal protocol by discussing the party’s legal strategy or trying the case in public, despite Roberts’ public comments.

When asked whether the PNM feared that the case would lead to the public disclosure of the party’s donors and financiers, Gonzales acknowledged that many political contributors expect and deserve confidentiality for their personal information and business interests. He noted that direct donations from members of the public at Balisier House have been a longstanding practice for the PNM, as they are for all major political parties in the country.

Gonzales alleged that the UNC administration’s push to unmask PNM donors is rooted in political retaliation, arguing that the government’s goal is to intimidate current and potential supporters and cut off the PNM’s access to campaign funding. He framed the move as more than just an attack on the opposition: “This is not only an attack on the PNM, it is an attack against the democracy of Trinidad and Tobago, and an attempt by the UNC Government to establish a one-party state in this country,” he said.

He argued that efforts to deter private donations to the opposition directly undermines democratic competition by limiting the PNM’s ability to carry out its political work, and urged all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago to recognize the threat to core democratic principles, regardless of their political alignment.

Six days after the Sunday Gazette first exposed internal rifts between sitting judges and the top leadership of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), President Justice Winston Anderson has broken his public silence to address a cascade of internal accusations, including claims of panel rigging, unauthorized attempts to shape case outcomes, and authoritarian leadership. In a detailed official statement, Anderson flatly rejected all the most serious allegations, while acknowledging that his approach to enforcing a new judicial dress code policy may have been overly forceful.

The controversy stems from internal email exchanges between Anderson and the court’s six other sitting judges exchanged between June and July this year. Multiple judges pushed back against a dress code mandate Anderson implemented unilaterally, ultimately leveling broader accusations that he governed the regional appellate body in an authoritarian, dictatorial fashion. The complaints expanded beyond dress code rules to include claims that Anderson manipulated judicial panel assignments to predetermine case outcomes and improperly pressured other justices to rule in line with his preferred positions.

Before addressing the specific claims against him, Anderson opened his statement by condemning the unauthorized leak of confidential internal court correspondence to the press. He called the disclosure a severe breach of core judicial principles, noting that the leaking of private deliberations erodes the trust that underpins judicial independence, undermines collegiality between sitting judges, and weakens public confidence in the third branch of government, causing lasting harm to the public the court is sworn to serve.

Turning first to accusations that he failed to consult colleagues on institutional decisions and has ruled in an autocratic manner, Anderson pushed back firmly. He emphasized that meaningful consultation is a core pillar of his approach to institutional and judicial leadership, and rejected labels of dictatorial or authoritarian leadership outright. Anderson noted he never turns down requests from fellow judges to discuss matters affecting the court, has consistently encouraged open engagement with all members of the bench, regularly visits the offices of colleague judges and court staff, and remains available at any time to address emerging concerns.

The controversy was first ignited by disputes over the court’s judicial dress code, a matter Anderson sought to clarify thoroughly. He confirmed that his decision to remove Justice Chile Eboe-Osuji from the D’Almada case panel was tied exclusively to the dress code disagreement, and not to any divergence in legal opinions between the two judges. Anderson stressed that he explicitly documented this rationale at the time of the change, reaffirming that every justice on the court retains full freedom to express their independent legal views during conferences, deliberations, and case discussions. Anderson acknowledged that critics have argued he handled the dress code issue with undue harshness, noting he accepts that assessment. He explained that he viewed the policy as an institutional matter tied to the court’s public image, consistent operational tone, and professional standards, not as a personal rebuke of any individual justice.

On the most serious accusation of panel fixing to secure predetermined case outcomes, Anderson issued a scathing rejection. He called the leap from a disagreement over judicial attire to claims of panel rigging irresponsible, intellectually dishonest, improper for a judicial context, and outright malicious. Anderson flatly rejected any claims that the court’s panels have ever been structured or altered to deliver preordained results, noting the allegations are completely unsupported by evidence, contradict the court’s longstanding operating procedures, and violate the core principles that have guided the court since its founding. To fully resolve public concerns over the issue going forward, Anderson announced a new policy: every CCJ justice will be required to sit on every panel, barring situations where a justice recuses themselves for a legitimate, disqualifying reason.

Addressing claims that he has attempted to improperly influence the outcome of pending cases before the court, Anderson called the claims entirely baseless and untrue. He noted that no qualified justice sitting on the CCJ bench would ever allow themselves to be unduly swayed by another justice, including the court’s president. As evidence, he pointed to the recent ruling in *Mohamed v Minister of Home Affairs*, where all seven sitting justices reached a unanimous decision on the appeal’s disposition. Anderson argued this unanimous outcome undermines any claims that judicial opinions were suppressed or that justices were ordered to reach a specific conclusion.

Anderson also addressed separate controversy stemming from his October 14, 2025 visit to Guyana, where he met separately with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and the country’s opposition leader. Opposition figures in Guyana have claimed Anderson intervened to push for the appointment of preferred candidates to the country’s top judicial posts of Chancellor and Chief Justice, which have been filled on a prolonged acting basis. Anderson clarified that his engagement was focused exclusively on the constitutional principle that Guyana’s judiciary should be led by substantively appointed office holders who benefit from the full constitutional protections enshrined by the country’s constitution. He stated he holds no personal preference or stake in who is appointed to the roles, and that his only goal during the visit was to encourage the two political leaders to reach an agreement on permanent appointments. Looking back on the visit, Anderson acknowledged that an alternative approach would have been preferable, noting he could have limited his engagement to public commentary on the constitutional importance of permanent judicial appointments, as his predecessors did. He emphasized that all his actions were motivated solely by a commitment to protecting judicial independence and the constitutional integrity of the Guyanese judiciary, with no political preference, personal interest, or desire to overstep into Guyana’s domestic affairs beyond his responsibility as head of the country’s final appellate court to protect constitutional judicial protections.

During a recent on-site inspection of the troubled Ridgeview Heights housing development in Bon Air North, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Housing Phillip Alexander has revealed staggering financial mismanagement that has left taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, prompting the state-owned Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to pursue legal avenues to recover misspent funds.

According to Alexander, the previous administration, led by former Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, oversaw catastrophic cost overruns and substandard construction that have left the project in ruins. The core issue centers on massive mismatches between construction costs and the actual market value of the completed residential units. Alexander explained that even the highest-quality finished units at the development can only fetch a maximum market price of $600,000 apiece — yet the prior administration locked the HDC into a contract that set initial construction costs at $1.2 million per unit. This marked a 100% markup over the units’ actual salable value, and subsequent cost overruns pushed the average price per completed townhouse to nearly $1.5 million, almost three times the properties’ market worth.

Across the entire 204-unit development — which comprises 52 townhouses and 152 apartments — the scale of losses is staggering. For every unit sold at the $600,000 market rate, taxpayers are forced to cover an additional $800,000 to $900,000 in overrun costs, Alexander said. When combined with losses from 50 partially completed units, the total public funds lost on the project top $165 million, he confirmed. The former administration reached a termination agreement with the project contractor that saw the HDC pay for 75% of the unfinished units, despite the fact that the properties were only 50% complete, leaving all of that pre-payment as a total write-off for public coffers.

Beyond the financial disaster, Alexander also exposed shocking construction defects that leave many units unsafe for occupancy. Many of the completed structures were built directly on the land surface without proper foundational anchoring, meaning they are structurally unstable and at risk of catastrophic failure, even in moderate weather. “They could blow away. We have no idea how many of them are like that,” Alexander told reporters. Most of the development also lacks basic critical infrastructure, including plumbing, electrical systems, sewer lines, and drainage networks, rendering the vast majority of the site unusable. As a result of these extreme defects, all the existing partially and fully completed structures at the development will have to be demolished, adding another unplanned cost that will once again be paid by taxpayers.

Alexander placed full blame for the stalled, failed project on the previous administration, noting that the current government has spent the past year working to salvage what it can from the mess it inherited. This scandal joins a growing list of prior problematic public housing projects that have faced official scrutiny, with Alexander comparing the Ridgeview Heights disaster to two earlier high-profile problematic developments: Trestrail and Las Alturas. He noted that the huge losses uncovered at this project are a key reason the current government has delayed handing over inherited housing units to qualifying applicants, as all prior projects are now being re-inspected to confirm they meet safety and construction standards before occupancy is approved.

As of this report, the HDC board has formally launched a review of the mismanagement and has retained legal counsel to explore all possible avenues to recover the lost public funds. Local media outlet The Express attempted to reach former minister Robinson-Regis for comment on the allegations, but did not receive a response by press time.