As Local Government Elections (LGE) edges closer, there seems to be disenchantment, apathy and even anger among the people in the streets and homes of San Fernando—the people who will ultimately decide the election’s outcome in the municipality.
During conversations with people across the city’s nine electoral districts, only a handful had positive things to say about their councillors.
And people were just as critical of the central government.
Many said they were uncertain if they would vote, and if they did, they weren’t sure who they would be voting for.
Residents complained bitterly of poor roads, a lack of events/facilities for youth and an “ineffective” local government system.
“The level of politics and representation is poor in this country. Over and over, we are getting the same thing. We are getting plenty of promises and we are not getting any fulfilment of these promises,” San Fernando resident Leonard Clement told Guardian Media.
“Watch what is happening with the roads, the drainage. Our children have to be walking through tracks. No lighting. You don’t have good roads to drive on, so will your vehicle stand up? And they want to charge you when your car is damaged. Sometimes you drive through a drain or a river. It’s not a pothole.
“I have no confidence in the governance of this country because the governance of the country is not for the people. Everybody is coming to give you pretty talk for the election, and after the election, you are not seeing anybody. I am not voting.”
As he spoke outside a Massy outlet in Bel Air, La Romain, three of his work colleagues—two young men in their early 20s and a Rastafarian in his 60s—nodded in agreement.
Clement’s views set the general tone for the other interviews.
District breakdown
The San Fernando City Corporation has nine electoral districts—Cocoyea/Tarouba; Les Efforts East/Cipero; Les Efforts West/La Romain, Marabella East, Marabella South/Vistabella; Marabella West; Mon Repos/Navet; Pleasantville; and Springvale/Paradise.
According to budget documents, the corporation received more than $277 million in recurrent programme funding in fiscal 2022 and 2023.
This means in 2023, the corporation received $2,835 to service each resident in San Fernando.
Comparatively, the average resident of Port-of-Spain received $6,046; Point Fortin: $3,946; Tunapuna/Piarco: $763; Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo: $586; Diego Martin: $994; San Juan/Laventille: $1,105; Mayaro/Rio Claro: $1,760; Princes Town: $728; Penal/Debe: $836; Arima: $2,739; Sangre Grande: $1,001; and Siparia: $1,760.
Of 50,442 eligible voters in San Fernando for the 2019 LGE, only 18,011 voted. That represented a voter turnout of 35.7 per cent.
In 2019, the PNM won six of the districts, but the UNC—for the first time since 2010—won a district, winning three in total.
However, one of those councillors, Marcus Girdharie, is ending his term in the red of the PNM after he defected from the UNC recently.
In the 2016 LGE, the PNM won all nine districts.
In 2013, the PNM won 8 seats, while the Congress of the People won one.
In the 2010 election, the UNC won 4 districts, the PNM won two and the COP won three.
No Good Leadership
While walking in Bel Air, La Romain, after working another day’s shift, Carlon Perryman stopped to talk. Perryman, in his mid-50s, lives in Tarodale Hills but doesn’t know who is his councillor.
What he does know for certain, he said, is that the infrastructure in his area is poor.
“Everybody has the same thing to say. They are not doing anything because we need box drains. We roads in a mess in Tarodale Hills. That’s about it, and we are not getting any good leadership,” he complained—seemingly relieved to have an opportunity to vent his frustrations.
“Promote things for the youths—like sporting events and Best Village. All these things are lost. These youths have no sense of direction. They have nobody to turn to because they have no good leadership, and it is stressful.”
Asked if he intends to vote in the coming elections, he said he will think about it. However, he said he was only considering it because his ancestors fought for the right to vote.
“The country is divided. People not voting for good leadership anymore. People vote on—I’m an Indian, or I’m an African. People are taking sides, so everybody is on ethnicity and race.
“Everybody looking for something to hold onto in this world, you know, and we are not getting anything from any government, party, not even the preacher. We need to go back to the roots,” he said.
Shortly after purchasing fresh fish to cook for Sunday lunch in La Romain, Doreen, in her 60s, insisted she would be voting come August 14. She is insistent despite her obvious displeasure with local and central government representation.
Asked if she knows her councillor, she asked a friend nearby for a name, but they couldn’t remember.
“We only see our councillor occasionally. Of course! (I would like to see him more) All of them need to come out. We have to know what we are voting for, and what they are doing for us. We vote but sometimes it feels like it doesn’t count. Nothing good right now. Nothing at all. They are going backwards.”
“The condition of the roads is very, very bad. If it’s one good natural thing Trinidad has is a pitch lake and it has no good road around here. Everything is down the drain. Everything is going downhill. Nothing is going up. I want to see a change, and for the younger generation to go better,” Doreen said passionately, before walking away with her fish.
The councillor who received the most praise from those we spoke with was Rishi Balramsingh, of Les Efforts West/La Romain.
“I never know any other councillor. I never see them. Never met them. Dealing with Rishi, he has always been helpful to the community. Always been there. And during COVID, during those times of need when nobody had anything—He was the only person who was always there. He even did things from COVID. Every household used to get bags, laptops and tablets. Without him, nothing would have been possible,” Ashford Williams said.
“The representation was beyond exceptional. He was very interactive with the neighbourhood. He was available and he shared a lot in common with a lot of people,” Dale Gobin added.
Considered the heart of San Fernando, Harris Promenade is typically full of pedestrians and commuters making their way around and within the city.
While Friday’s inclement weather forced people inside in search of shelter, a short sunny spell brought people out on the Square for a couple of hours before the rain returned.
Wesley Charles, of mixed race and in his early 30s, was walking to get a taxi home to Marabella. He said he voted in a general election once, but will probably never vote in an election again.
“The politicians are not doing anything for people. To me, the whole political system is corrupted. You know it’s normal human behaviour but they don’t know what they are doing. They are just doing what they feel like. They don’t have a plan,” Charles said.
“Down by me still flooding. I’m sure it will flood already with this little bit of rain.”
Dave, from the Marabella West constituency, claimed the representation offered by his councillor has been poor.
“The only time I see these representatives is when they come around looking for votes…They are supposed to come around and meet the people. I’m disenchanted by politics in general.
“Politicians need to be more service-oriented. Come out and meet the people, meet the constituents, and see what it is they want. At least show yourself, so people know who they are voting for. Because plenty of people in my area don’t know who their councillor is,” he said, adding that he will vote for any party apart from the PNM or UNC.
While knocking on doors in the Marabella South/Vistabella electoral district in the hope of speaking with residents, an elderly woman, with a walking stick, began to speak with us, but she said her husband wouldn’t let her speak in front of the camera.
She was represented by Girdharie—who served his term as a UNC councillor before controversially switching allegiances to the PNM earlier this year.
“The councillor is trying. He does well but the system is the problem. The country is in the worst state I’ve ever seen. It’s terrible.
“I worry about my grandchildren and their future. People go in with good intentions but the human ego. The Bible warns us about money,” the retired nurse lamented about the state of politics.
She said if she were to vote, it would likely be for the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) because, in her opinion, the party’s leader, Phillip Alexander, is passionate and for the people.
Bureaucracy hampering delivery
Shortly after interviewing constituents on the Square, we crossed Harris Promenade hoping to interview outgoing San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello. He willingly accepted.
The mayor admitted that the problems associated with the local government system are resulting in insufficient funding, and delaying the completion time of the corporation’s projects.
“This is why we’ve been advocating for a while now that we need local government reform. We are still at the mercy of the central government and the bureaucracy in having funding. Because it’s one thing for us to make a request and for the minister to approve it, but it has to go through a system, Regrello said.
“Look at this Harris Promenade. We started this project of refurbishment last year. We are waiting for approval from the auditors. They come and look at it, and then the next batch of auditors will follow up. So, one batch of auditors will come today and say we agree with this or agree with that - address these three issues. Then the next batch of auditors would come and say - we agree with the first set, but you have to go and change it around again. Then it goes back and forth before it’s finally sorted out.
“So, we have projects that are waiting for final payments that haven’t been paid as yet. Even this project here— work done to City Hall—hasn’t been paid because we are waiting for the auditors to come and follow up and look at it. This has been going on since late last year. Almost a year ago. You have those kinds of issues.”
The mayor said he understands why many constituents would have expressed disenchantment about governance.
“Absolutely (I understand), because they are affected by it too. We look at our road repairs system. Our roads are bad. We have to go to the Ministry of Works to get it done - wait on funding. And then they may prioritise and we may not be up on the list because it’s San Fernando. And sometimes we may feel that we are being victimised and San Fernando is the bastard child. A lot of San Fernandians feel that way, and I think local government reform really will give us the autonomy to get things done in the city,” he insisted.
Expressing confidence in the PNM’s chances to maintain a majority in the San Fernando Corporation, the Mayor said he believed Sando was on the cusp of development. He said the progress is there to see.
“You could see the development. There’s no traffic around San Fernando. We have addressed those issues. The Waterfront Development will really repositioning San Fernando to boost the economy. Physical infrastructure is what drives the economy for our young people and I cannot wait for that,” he said.
Regrello was also insistent that all electoral districts—whether it was PNM or UNC—were treated fairly. He insisted there was equity in funds across all districts.
Sitting on the other side of the political divide, Rishi Balramsingh won the district of Les Efforts West/La Romain for the UNC in 2019. He said while the experience was fulfilling, it was very challenging.
“We had a lot of challenges— COVID-19 being the biggest one. I would say I’m very proud to have given dozens of devices to children in need within my district with no government assistance—none from the corporation and none from the MP. It was through well-wishers. It was through the private sector, and it was through fundraisers that my office did. We were able to do 75 devices. Everybody can say I am accessible,” he said.
“So the usual cry is there’s no money, there’s no allocation to have roads patched or to have simple drains cleaned. I had to find innovative ways to get that done. So casual workers—my casual workers took it upon themselves to get things done—Clean drains those sorts of things. We purchased our tools. We purchased our forks, shovels, and everything. So when we get a drain complaint, rather than having to send it to public health to come to council to hear we don’t have money to get anything done, my casual workers - rather than sit in the yard or pass time in the morning—my casual workers would get up in the morning and clean these drains,” he said proudly as he prepared his nomination papers.
While the Mayor stressed the need for local government reform, Balramsingh was hesitant to make a full comment on the issue. He stopped short of saying that there were grey areas that needed ironing out.
