Karen Moodie, CDU member, left, presents plaque to Trinidad and Tobago Opposition Chief Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, flanked by former Grenada Amb. Eugene Pursoo.
Photograph by Nelson A. King
An embarrassing state of affairs is enjoying itself out in Trinidad and Tobago. Each the federal government and the primary opposition are acknowledging that the republic’s lower-ranking troopers are poorly fed, put on tattered uniforms and bulletproof vests, and sleep on mattresses so skinny that they trigger aching backs.
The problem has come to the fore after Opposition Chief Penny Beckles complained to native media and after Minister of Protection Wayne Sturge went on just lately unannounced fact-finding missions to a number of army amenities to audit the state of affairs for himself.
He discovered not solely a humiliation however a nationwide shame, for which the opposition Individuals’s Nationwide Motion should take some blame, as this state of affairs has been ongoing for greater than a decade. The PNM misplaced energy within the basic elections held in late April.
Native media reviews from off-the-record interviews with troopers paint a depressing image. The ranks are adamant that commissioned officers dwell like kings and queens. On the identical time, fundamental meals gadgets reminiscent of rooster are a luxurious or delicacy for strange and decrease ranks.
“Listen to what’s occurring down there in our base, the place the women and men usually are not being fed. There isn’t any rice, no meat, solely spaghetti. If my info is incorrect, I would really like you to make a transparent assertion,” she stated of Minister Sturge.
Firing again, Sturge assessed the state of affairs as dire, vowing that adjustments are coming and imminent.
Responding to the Newsday newspaper, Sturge urged turning up at bases unannounced, as senior officers had painted a really completely different image in conversations with him.
“The situation at most bases is downright deplorable and corresponding to our worst jail, which is now about to be decommissioned. They complained in unison that they, within the hierarchy, dwell like lords at protection headquarters. They benefit from the best victuals, while strange troopers, significantly these at installations distant from Port of Spain, should pool their sources to supply their very own means, while on obligation, because the ration by no means reaches locations like Cedros, throughout the waterway from Venezuela. “I’ve heard the allegations of rations being purloined by senior officers. This shall be remedied within the coming weeks,” he advised the publication.
How troopers are handled is a matter that has raised its head due to present tensions related to the presence of an American army armada close to the Venezuelan coast, presumably to thwart the cargo of medication to the US.
American forces have already obliterated three go-fast boats allegedly ferrying cocaine to Trinidad and for alleged onward journeys to the US.
There are additionally present simmering tensions between Trinidad and Venezuela over Venezuelan allegations that the republic has allowed worldwide mercenaries to enter the nation by way of Trinidad, expenses officers vehemently deny.
This has led to an unsightly change of phrases with Venezuela threatening a response from Trinidad, permitting American troops to launch assaults from there.
Officers worry that now shouldn’t be the time for low morale amongst troopers, particularly regarding a fundamental merchandise reminiscent of meals in a rustic with a comparatively first rate lifestyle.
