PM: Municipal Bill Will Address Long-Standing Inequalities, Funding Gaps

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC is defending the Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2026, saying the proposed changes are intended to address long-standing inequalities in representation and the distribution of resources.

During her contribution to the debate on the Bill in the Lower House on Wednesday night, the Prime Minister pointed to figures from the 2025 Development Estimates, which she said showed that several larger UNC-controlled Corporations received less money in total than smaller PNM-controlled Corporations, despite having significantly more people to serve.

She highlighted that Point Fortin, under PNM control, was allocated TT$17.65 million to serve about 20,000 people. By comparison, the UNC-controlled Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo Regional Corporation received TT$78.15 million to serve 178,410 people.