Political scientist Dr Maukesh Basdeo says the Government’s proposed Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2026, will modernise the local government system.
The Government is proposing to increase the number of municipalities from 14 to 17, adding Barataria, St Augustine and Couva, while granting city status to Chaguanas. The legislation also proposes implementing tighter controls over elected officials.
According to Dr Basdeo, the Bill is about more than increasing the number of municipalities, describing it as a move aimed at strengthening local governance and representation.
“The proposed amendments as it currently stands in the Bill, proposed Bill, really brings the municipalities into the 21st century. This amendment by the current government really brings the country into what we call the municipalities in line with the needs of the country in 2026, and hopefully that these will deal with the issues affecting the overall society for the next decade or more.”
The political scientist outlined the impact the proposed legislation could have on society.
“When we look as to see where the Bill intends to create these additional municipalities is to create a degree of equity within these municipalities. But really, primarily, it’s how we allocate resources to actually manage the day-to-day affairs because the local government system as a government machinery has the effect of actually affecting the lives more directly than, let’s say, the central government.”
Dr Basdeo said the Bill seeks to tackle a number of shortcomings in the current legislation, including the structure of Municipal Corporations, changes to Electoral District boundaries, and broader provisions for declaring a seat vacant.
“The last reconfiguration we can go back to was in 2023 Local Government election with the addition of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation, which is somewhat new, and the Siparia Regional Corporation. But other than that, this piece of legislation is very expansive because it not only deals with the creation of new municipalities, but it also deals with what we call other issues that are part of the Act itself.”
Dr Basdeo indicated that these issues included the composition of municipalities, adjustments to the number of electoral districts, as well as the expansion of the grounds for declaring an office vacant.