Cabinet has taken a policy decision to remove all the magisterial districts in T&T.
Minister of National Security Stuart Young announced the abolition of the customary 13 magisterial districts during the Parliamentary sitting yesterday.
“If you went on an excursion on the other side of Trinidad, managed to commit an infraction and get a speeding ticket or parking ticket and you couldn’t pay it over a weekend because you had to pay it at the magisterial district court. You had 14 days to find yourself back in Mayaro to go and pay that ticket,” he said.
“What you are seeing here today is long overdue,” he said.
“Cabinet took a decision, forget about all these magisterial districts, we will have north, south and Tobago,” he said.
“That leads to a greater efficiency,” he said.
Young said he could not understand how members of the Opposition saw that as corruption.
“I thought to myself how ironic a conversation about corruption..and I’d leave that right there for now,” he said.
Young said the Government supported the request from the Judiciary to create a more efficient system.
According to a legal notice dated May 22, the magisterial district changeover was instituted since May 23.
In that document the North Trinidad consists of Port-of-Spain, the Arima, Chaguanas, Diego Martin, San Juan/ Laventille, Tunapune/Piarco and Sangre Grande.
The southern magisterial district includes San Fernando, Point Fortin, Couva, Tabaquite/Talparo, Siparia, Penal/ Debe, Princes Town and Rip Claro.
The Tobago magisterial district comprises all of the island.
“We as an administration support this because we see the beneficiary at the end of the day being the public of T&T and that could only be a good thing,” Young said.