Senior Multimedia Reporter
peter.christopher@guardian.co.tt
Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Kennedy Swaratsingh, has identified severe understaffing as the root cause of many challenges faced by the Customs and Excise Division and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).
After conducting assessments during his first two months in office, Swaratsingh said he traced multiple operational problems back to manpower shortages.
“I’ve been in office for the last month or two, and there are so many things we need to fix. Right now, we have to prioritise because we simply don’t have the fiscal space or the manpower,” he said during an address at the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce Business Outlook 2025 event at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
He elaborated: “Yesterday (Tuesday), I met with Customs. They are over 100 officers short—227 officers short to be exact. The BIR is staffed at just 32 per cent, meaning they are 68 per cent understaffed. The Director of Personnel Administration has no staff. The police service is short by over 2,000 officers. Everywhere you look, we face a depleted workforce.”
Swaratsingh said he also plans to return to his life in Barbados when his five-year term with the Government ends.
“If we have to give this space to your children and my children, and I have two wonderful girls, and I want to come back some day to Trinidad and Tobago, although I was just telling someone when I finish this, I going back to Barbados after this five years,” he told the audience, drawing some gasps from some in the crowd.
He continued, “But I still want my children to have the option to come to Trinidad and live. Therefore, we ought to take responsibility.”
Swaratsingh, who had previously served as Public Administration minister under the PNM from 2007 to 2010, returned to local politics ahead of the 2025 General Election.
Yesterday, however, he lamented that there had been limited development in the country since his departure, noting that policies he advocated for back in 2009 had not been actioned.
Manpower shortages have long plagued these critical organisations.
In the 2023/2024 Budget presentation, then Finance minister Colm Imbert announced plans to recruit 1,000 new police officers in the following year.
Contacted yesterday, TTPS Social and Welfare Association president, ASP Gideon Dickson, confirmed the shortage remains around 1,400 officers.
“Back in 2023, we were short by about 1,200 to 1,300 officers. Some efforts have been made to fill the gap, but the shortage has actually increased,” said Dickson.
He added: “The problem is that as fast as we recruit, attrition removes officers at nearly the same rate. Additionally, the recruitment process is slowed down by various requirements that applicants must meet.”
Dickson said Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander was provided with key information on the shortfalls following a meeting in May.
“We anticipate that measures will be taken shortly to address this chronic shortage of manpower that the TTPS faces daily,” he said.
The Customs and Excise Division has also reported longstanding staffing shortages. The Public Service Association, representing Customs workers, noted that vacancies stood at nearly 40 per cent as far back as 2019.
Compounding the issue, several Customs and Excise employees faced uncertainty after the previous government attempted to establish the T&T Revenue Authority (TTRA).
Before the TTRA was scrapped, 1,200 workers from Customs, Excise, and Inland Revenue were forced to decide whether to join the new authority, resign from public service, or transfer to other public offices.