Government Senator David Nakhid has accused the Opposition PNM of failing communities along the East West Corridor.
Speaking during debate on The Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Bill, 2026 on Friday, Senator Nakhid rejected the Opposition’s concerns that the implementation of Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs) would lead to the stigmatisation of certain communities.
“When you look at the state of the country it’s very clear what is before us. We have a bill, a bill that seeks to correct the wrongs committed by them. They seem to like living in a country where there is chaos and confusion because it serves their purpose. They seem to like living in a country where they have black people just as a vote bank. That is all they have for them because if that is the offering, then none of them have come and told us, ‘But you know what? This ZOSO Bill is not right because it’s all come back to race, how people will see the stigmatisation, how they will see the discrimination.’ But they are the ones who discriminated and stigmatised these communities by their oppressive economic policies. They did that. Not us.”
Reflecting on his upbringing along the East West Corridor, Senator Nakhid said that areas now labelled as “hotspots” were historically middle-class communities that deteriorated under previous administrations.
“I left Trinidad and Tobago to go to college in 1982. When I left here, most of the communities on the East–West Corridor, from Champs Fleur, Petit Bourg, Mt Lambert, going up to St. Augustine, even as far as some places in Morvant, most of them were middle class. I come back here, all of them ghettoised from the PNM. All of them have become ghettos, until now, from the PNM.”
The Senator also noted that over the years some of the most violent crimes have occurred along the East West Corridor. He said implementing ZOSOs would allow law-abiding residents in these areas to move freely, access training, and pursue education.
“None of you all there could ever pontificate to this man from the East West Corridor about what the East West Corridor needs, and what is needed is this ZOSO. Right now, the urgency of now is here.”
He went on to illustrate the impact of crime on the community: “Everybody coming with anecdotal evidence. I could bring you a million stories. The young boy, who can’t get the training. He can’t get the training, you know why? The gang tell him he can’t go training. Training in Constantine Park, he can’t even pass through the zone to get to training. What you doing there, you’re not stopping one life. You’re stopping the betterment of a whole community. One footballer, one sportsman, can uplift a whole community, I can tell you that. I come from Mt. D’or. I had the joy of living in Mt D’or when Mt D’or was a middle class community.”
Senator Nakhid also denied that implementing ZOSOs would harm Trinidad and Tobago’s international image, noting that foreign embassies had already issued travel advisories for parts of Port of Spain years ago under previous governments.
Debate on the ZOSO Bill resumes on Tuesday, January 27th, 2026.