Just before the new year, Trinidad and Tobago’s government declared a state of emergency after a weekend of gun violence.
Trinidad and Tobago, a country of about 1.5 million people and once the wealthiest in the Caribbean, has been plagued by decades of poor economic and social leadership, gang violence, home invasions, murders and corruption.
There is a human trafficking problem, with young women as the main target. It is a transhipment zone for cocaine and other illicit drugs moving from Colombia and other South American countries to the insatiable markets in the US, UK and Europe. It was ranked 76th out of 180 countries on the corruption perception index in 2023, and there has been no real improvement in years.
In a press conference teetering on the edge of absurdity, the minister of national security, Fitzgerald Hinds, and acting attorney general, Stuart Young, attempted to “elucidate” and to justify the government’s declaration of a state of emergency in response to escalating crime. Notably missing was the prime minister, Keith Rowley, whose absence was dismissed with the baffling claim that his presence would have been “inappropriate”. Equally glaring was the lack of accountability from Hinds himself, who remains in office despite presiding over the worst years of escalating crime in the islands’ history. Asked if he would resign over his record, Hinds allowed Young to dismiss the question for him.
The ministers assured citizens that while their constitutional rights were now effectively suspended, they could rest easy knowing that Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival 2025 in March could proceed unimpeded. No curfews or bans on public gatherings would be imposed, as the government’s “main intent” was to protect the economy. This was cold comfort to Trinidadians who have been living behind barred doors and windows under their own curfews while criminals roam free to make bloodbaths of the streets.
It is decisive action they need, not economic prioritisation.
The ministers leaned on platitudes, citing Rowley’s past expressions of “disappointment” at the crime situation. The police commissioner, Erla Harewood-Christopher, was also said to be “disappointed” with the crime rate – a sentiment echoed by citizens who question why expressions of disappointment seem to be the only tangible outcomes from those in power.
The message to citizens was clear: while the government grapples with rampant crime, the party will go on – constitutional rights notwithstanding. This state of emergency feels less like a solution and more like an attempt to sidestep the hard questions of leadership and accountability.
In November, Rowley accepted an extremely generous pay rise for himself and his ministers, an increase that comes at a time when public servants, including overburdened port workers, are pleading for overdue adjustments to their wages amid the unrelenting surge in the cost of living.
If the country were a private corporation, where management is rewarded based on performance, many government ministers – prime minister included – would have long been shown the door.
Trinidad and Tobago’s murder rate in 2024, the highest on record, makes the country one of the most violent in Latin America and the Caribbean. The 623 tally could have been worse: according to Hinds, another 713 people survived gunshot wounds.
Caught between an entrenched legacy of corruption and a desperate need for visionary leadership, Trinidad and Tobago has long been weighed down by poor governance. As a select few in power enrich themselves, the citizens they serve face economic decline and escalating violence.
This is an election year, and so the perennial question will be asked again: why do so many vote along entrenched party lines? It is not without answers, yet the phenomenon resembles a collective political inertia.
The situation encapsulates a broader Caribbean reality. The country has been governed by the same party, People’s National Movement (PNM), for 47 of the 62 years since independence, which has shaped the political, social and economic realities of the country today and locked it in a cycle of stagnation. Political accountability appears to be an alien concept, with Rowley consistently deflecting blame rather than addressing systemic failings.
Over the past 10 years, the administration has been plagued by inefficacy, incompetence and corruption. Not only Hinds remains in his role despite failings – the minister of finance, Colm Imbert, an engineer by profession, has presided over an economy that has generated a serious foreign exchange imbalance while perpetuating deficit budgets. This is the minister who laughed at how citizens had not rioted after he reduced fuel subsidies several times.
In 2024, as crime ramped up, the government focused on arresting a YouTuber for sedition and on mobilising its police force to investigate an “obeah” man’s wild threats against the licensing office. This institution, equivalent to the UK’s DVLA, is part of the transport ministry led by Rohan Sinanan, another minister with a record as poor as the nation’s roads, and chiefly known for being jeered at by the public wherever he goes.
These are absurdities that speak volumes about misplaced priorities, and the prime minister must stop assigning blame and address the urgent issues making life difficult for citizens, instead of allowing incompetent ministers to keep doing the same things while expecting different results.
Rowley’s own former leader, Patrick Manning, described him in 2009 as hateful, “out of control” and a “raging bull” when he did not get his way. The then prime minister Manning’s public criticisms were unprecedented against a minister from his own party.
Rowley’s leadership certainly often lacks professionalism. He recently attacked a local economist, decrying her analysis of the foreign exchange dilemma as “jackassness”, while admitting to only having read the headline. The report claimed that $25bn (£20bn) had “gone missing” from the country.
But this is the kind of unfettered speech we have come to expect from this prime minister, who has been called out for misogyny and racism, equating women to golf courses that must be “groomed” and citizens of east Indian descendent as the “recalcitrant minority”.
Another recent controversy has been attacks on the auditor general, Jaiwantie Ramdass, who attempted to scrutinise an extra $2.6bn in revenue that suddenly appeared in a second version of the public accounts after a previous incomplete submission by Imbert’s finance ministry was questioned. Imbert then tried to block her judicial review.
Even when extraordinary measures are taken to bring in solutions and expertise, the inertia of corruption and lack of political will stifles meaningful change.
These failures are not unique to Trinidad and Tobago, it is a regional ailment.
The citizens of many of these nations are not only disillusioned but also desperate for change. The brain drain continues as educated, skilled young people seek futures abroad rather than navigate corrupt systems that stifle their potential. What does this mean for the future? In a region with such cultural richness and global contributions, the loss of talent to migration is devastating.
A direct result of this exodus in Trinidad and Tobago has been what is known as a kakistocracy, where some of the most unqualified and unscrupulous hold office.
To progress, the country’s leadership must undergo a transformation akin to the revolutionary reforms led by leaders such as Mia Mottley in Barbados. Leaders with the courage to challenge entrenched interests, to prioritise citizens over political loyalty, are rare but not unheard of. As the country looks to 2025 elections, citizens must ask themselves what they truly want.
Entrenched parties such as the PNM or the United National Congress of the opposition leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, steeped in its own controversies and failures, should no longer enjoy unchallenged support.
New political movements, such as the Progressive Empowerment party (PEP), may offer an alternative but it remains to be seen whether they can provide the clean governance and dedication so desperately needed.
Trinidad and Tobago deserves leadership that respects its people, harnesses resources ethically and enacts policies with a view toward sustainable, transparent governance.
It is time to move beyond hollow promises and deliver real, measurable results. For a people who have given so much to the world, better governance is a rightful demand.
