Opposition MPs Push Back on PM’s Chaguaramas Claims

Opposition MPs push back after PM’s Chaguaramas traffic claims

Diego Martin’s three MPs issued a united rebuke to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s suggestion that citizens should raise traffic concerns with them following last Saturday’s Stink and Dutty fete in Chaguaramas.

The MPs condemned the PM’s remarks as gaslighting of the People’s National Movement (PNM). Persad-Bissessar had accused the Diego Martin MPs of political hypocrisy, saying they were the same MPs who cried for fete promoters when the government cracked down on noise pollution, and advised constituents to take traffic complaints to their MPs, councillors, and fete promoters instead of the government.

In response, Diego Martin West MP Hans des Vignes accused the Prime Minister of dodging responsibility by pointing fingers at the PNM, even as she limited promoters by banning fetes at sporting facilities. Des Vignes urged society to recognize when it is being gaslit, noting that the Opposition never highlighted noise pollution as a major issue and that the ban on fete venues was framed by the PM as necessary for noise and traffic controls.

He argued that moving a 17,000-person event to a chokepoint like Chaguaramas was doomed to cause congestion and inconvenience for residents, regardless of any traffic plans by promoters or the government. Des Vignes also criticized the government for authorizing use of the heliport for the fete, calling the heliport a military detention centre and questioning the appropriateness of events at such facilities.

Diego Martin North/East MP Colm Imbert labeled Persad-Bissessar’s comments as stupid and objectionable, saying no Diego Martin MP called for roads to be blocked for 16 hours. He noted traffic was jammed from Cocorite to Chaguaramas from midnight to 6 p.m. the following day and urged the government to stop sanctioning large events in Chaguaramas, proposing instead that the area be declared a nature reserve.

Diego Martin Central MP Symon de Nobriga questioned whether the government’s stance on the gridlock was dismissive because it occurred in a PNM constituency, describing the issue as one of traffic management. He criticized the UNC government for moving the fete to a cul-de-sac without deploying adequate resources to manage the flow and asked whether political motives influenced the decision.

Des Vignes also urged Culture and Community Minister Michelle Benjamin, Planning, Economic Affairs, and Development Minister Kennedy Swaratsingh, and Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Phillip Watts to meet with fete promoters to address the venue crisis. He called for a full accounting of the state’s Carnival spend, including the $137 million allocated for Carnival 2026, and questioned what steps would be taken to offset potential revenue losses from holding events at sporting venues.

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