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governance

14 articles

Accountability31 March 20269 min

Budget 2026 at the Halfway Mark: What Was Promised, What Was Delivered

The Finance Minister used the word 'will' 296 times in the budget. Six months later, we check the receipts.

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Perspective31 March 202611 min

29,276 Registered. Cards Expire in Nine Months. There Is No Plan for What Comes Next.

Trinidad and Tobago's expanded Migrant Registration Framework closed with nearly 30,000 applications - more than 16,000 of them children. The $700-per-person exercise produced a database, not a policy. And the cards expire on December 31.

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Accountability27 March 20267 min

TSTT Spent $436,000 on a Three-Day Retreat While Reporting $82 Million in Losses

Eleven executives. Three days in Tobago. A King Suite at $1,961 a night. A boat tour to No Man's Land. And workers still on 2013 salaries.

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Accountability26 March 202612 min

The SoE's Quiet Threat to Your Group Chat

The Emergency Powers Regulations never mention social media. That is precisely what makes them dangerous.

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Accountability22 March 20268 min

CAL's Numbers Still Don't Add Up

Caribbean Airlines has not published audited financial statements in over eight years. The 2026 budget tripled its loan allocation. The new board says change is coming. We have heard this before.

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Accountability19 March 20269 min

The Minister Who Keeps Saying 'I Didn't Know'

Three times the HDC chairman announced a policy. Three times the Housing Minister said he was not aware. At some point, someone has to be in charge.

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Accountability17 March 20268 min

Every PNM Corporation Got Less. Every UNC Corporation Got More.

Port of Spain's development funding was cut 79%. Chaguanas got a 116% increase. The PM told opposition areas to stop complaining.

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Accountability9 March 20268 min

1,000 Body Cameras Bought. 180 Work. Nobody Knows Why.

The police halted the licensing contract that makes the cameras function. The PCA has never received footage in eight years. And the Senate made cameras a condition of supporting ZOSO.

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Accountability23 February 20267 min

The Bus Route Pass 'Reset' That Changed Nothing

A year after the PM condemned the pass system and ordered a recall, the Guardian found the distribution patterns largely unchanged. Only 360 of 650 passes were returned.

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Perspective15 February 202610 min

Tobago's 15-0 Sweep and the Autonomy Bill That Keeps Stalling

The Tobago People's Party won every seat. Chief Secretary Augustine made autonomy his first priority. A narrow amendment passed 38-0. The constitutional bill failed. Now the real question is whether Port of Spain will ever let Tobago govern itself.

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Perspective5 February 202610 min

What Years on the EU Blacklist Actually Cost Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago was removed from the EU's non-cooperative tax list in February 2026 - after eight years. The delisting was a genuine win. But the damage from years on the list - eroded banking relationships, higher transaction costs, lost investment - does not reverse overnight. And the reforms that got the country off could have happened years earlier.

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Accountability3 February 20269 min

17 Years, Zero Accountability: The CL Financial Case Is Over

The AG called the 17-year investigation 'a joke.' The bailout cost taxpayers up to $32 billion. Duprey died at 89 without facing a courtroom. And CLICO is now profitable.

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Patterns1 February 202611 min

Millions Tax-Free While the Watersheds Burn

Only nine companies hold full quarrying licences. At least 90 sites operate without them. One illegal operation in Guanapo earned over a million dollars a week. The sector owes the government an estimated $800 million in unpaid taxes - and it is fuelling gang violence.

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Accountability30 January 20266 min

The Auditor General Published a Report. Nobody Read It.

A disclaimer of opinion for the second consecutive year. $1.75 billion in loans missing from the debt figure. A ministry that blocked auditors entirely. And the media covered none of it.

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