Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has challenged claims by People’s National Movement (PNM) councillors that their municipal corporations were shortchanged, saying the seven PNM-controlled corporations were allocated $490 million more than the seven run by the United National Congress (UNC).
In a social media post, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said the PNM should be telling its constituents about the allocations instead of “making fools of themselves.” She shared a media report and an excerpt from the budget documents to support her case.
Citing the Ministry of Finance’s Draft Estimates of Expenditure 2027, she said the PNM corporations were allocated about $1.29 billion, against about $799 million for the UNC corporations. The PNM bodies also saw a larger increase over the 2026 revised estimates, about $276 million, compared with about $183 million for their UNC counterparts.
The figures appear on page 268 of the Draft Estimates, under Head 42, the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government. Across all local government bodies, allocations rise from $1.654 billion in the 2026 revised estimates to $2.104 billion in fiscal 2027, an increase of about $450 million, or 27 per cent.
PNM-controlled corporations (2027 allocation)
Port of Spain City Corporation: $295.3 million, up from $234.4 million
Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation: $222.4 million, up from $175 million
San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation: $217.3 million, up from $173.8 million
San Fernando City Corporation: $212.3 million, up from $157.2 million
Diego Martin Borough Corporation: $123.4 million, up from $98.7 million
Arima Borough Corporation: $114.3 million, up from $91.7 million
Point Fortin Borough Corporation: $104.8 million, up from $84 million
UNC-controlled corporations (2027 allocation)
Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation: $147.8 million, up from $115.2 million
Siparia Borough Corporation: $122.7 million, up from $94.6 million
Sangre Grande Regional Corporation: $114.9 million, up from $89.7 million
Princes Town Regional Corporation: $111.2 million, up from $81.9 million
Chaguanas Borough Corporation: $109.8 million, up from $82.3 million
Penal/Debe Regional Corporation: $100.4 million, up from $82.3 million
Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation: $93.3 million, up from $71.1 million
The Prime Minister also accused the PNM corporations of mismanaging public funds and of directing money to political patronage, including ghost workers and inflated contracts. She also said constituents in PNM-controlled municipalities “like it like that.”