Trinidad and Tobago — Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has declared that Trinidad and Tobago is facing a “youth emergency,” citing a growing crisis where young people, deprived of opportunities, are increasingly drawn into gang culture.
Speaking at a campaign event at Vickar’s car park in the critical battleground constituency of Moruga/Tableland, the former Prime Minister pledged to tackle the issue within the first 120 days of a United National Congress (UNC) government. She warned that when young people turn to criminality as a form of employment, the country is witnessing not merely a crime problem, but “a crisis of opportunity and dignity.”
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“The UNC will disrupt the pipeline to gangs and replace it with a pathway to growth,” Persad-Bissessar promised. “We will make being skilled, educated, and employed more rewarding than being feared. And we will give every young person a chance to belong, to contribute, and to lead.”
Persad-Bissessar criticized the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) for allowing a youth emergency to escalate, citing the collapse of skills training programmes and the disillusionment of graduates facing limited job prospects. She pointed to a culture of instant gratification and survivalism that has fueled gang membership, stressing that youth — not the elderly — are driving surges in home invasions and gun trafficking.
Under a UNC government, she said, a National Youth Empowerment & Transformation Plan would be launched to holistically support young people through employment generation, skills training, and paid apprenticeships. Among the initiatives, the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) aims to create thousands of entry-level and part-time jobs for individuals aged 16 to 30.
Persad-Bissessar also pledged to make housing more accessible to young people and committed to direct intervention efforts targeting at-risk youth in high-crime areas.
In a direct appeal to first-time voters — many of whom were children when the PNM took office in 2015 — she urged them to envision a better Trinidad and Tobago. “What you see happening today with all this hardship, out-of-control crime, home invasions, murders, joblessness, and hopelessness is not how Trinidad and Tobago used to be,” she said.
Differentiating the UNC from the PNM, she asserted, “The UNC serves the people whilst the PNM serves the ‘Fake elite’ and party financiers.” She added: “Ask yourself this question: If you wanted someone to look after the welfare of your children, would you entrust their safety to the bully Stuart Young or to me, who loves you and your children? With all humility, I think you know that the answer is me.”
Persad-Bissessar emphasized that restoring hope and dignity to young people would be central to her administration’s agenda, offering a vision of opportunity over desperation.
