Development funding for PNM-run municipal corporations falls 61 percent. The Opposition alleges discrimination and demands published funding criteria.
Development funding for all seven People’s National Movement-controlled municipal corporations has been cut by $49.55 million, or 61%, in the 2027 budget estimates compared with the original 2026 provisions. The seven United National Congress-controlled corporations face a reduction of $3.063 million, or about 1.6%, according to the Ministry of Finance’s Draft Estimates of Development Programme Expenditure.
The seven PNM-controlled councils will receive a combined $31.62 million, down from $81.17 million, while the UNC-controlled corporations will receive $187.4 million, compared with $190.463 million. Across all 14 corporations, the total falls from $271.633 million to $219.02 million, with PNM-controlled councils accounting for about 94.2% of that $52.613 million reduction. Diego Martin faces the steepest percentage cut, 80%, falling from $11.1 million to $2.22 million. San Fernando records the largest dollar reduction, losing $14.75 million as its allocation drops from $18.55 million to $3.8 million. San Juan/Laventille’s allocation is halved to $9.5 million. Combined drainage and irrigation funding for PNM-controlled corporations falls about 74%, while UNC-controlled corporations’ roads and bridges funding rises from $41 million to $68.85 million. The figures cover development programmes under the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government and exclude recurrent spending.
Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles accused the government of political discrimination in a statement titled “Kamla’s Attack on T&T,” and demanded that it publish the criteria used to allocate development funding. Using a longer comparison, she said PNM-controlled corporations’ combined allocations fell from $129.3 million in fiscal 2025 to $31.62 million for fiscal 2027. She also cited a drop in the Public Sector Investment Programme from $6.2 billion in 2024 to $4.1 billion in 2026, and alleged that communities were being moved into new municipalities through gerrymandering under the government’s boundary changes.
At Port of Spain City Hall on Tuesday, PNM mayors and corporation chairmen met to discuss the cuts. Port of Spain Mayor Chinua Alleyne pledged to join trade unions in their planned Oct. 30 protest against the government and alleged the reductions were part of a strategy to influence the upcoming local government elections. He also raised concerns that the Special Operations Act contains no specific carve-out for election canvassing. The Act requires permits to enter or leave closed areas and exempts certain officeholders, including MPs and municipal councillors, while allowing the Police Commissioner to issue permits to categories of people. Diego Martin Mayor Akeliah Glasgow-Warner questioned the allocation criteria, citing her municipality’s larger population and greater number of electoral districts. She said all 14 local government bodies received between $17 million and $20 million in development funding under the PNM’s final fiscal 2025 budget.
The estimates establish differences in allocations but do not explain the reasons for them or show a political motive. Urban Development and Local Government Minister Khadijah Ameen acknowledged receiving questions on the rationale but had not responded by press time. This is the second successive budget in which PNM-controlled corporations face funding reductions, after cuts to their operational and recurrent allocations in the 2026 budget.
