By Alicia Chamely
POLITICAL gimmicky and an exploitation of fear.
This is how People’s National Movement (PNM) Member of Parliament for Diego Martin Central MP Symon de Nobriga is describing the government’s decision to establish a committee to develop a national gated community policy.
At Thursday’s post-cabinet briefing, Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen announced that Cabinet had approved the formation of an inter-ministerial committee to draft national policy on gated communities, citing the move was an extension of the government’s Stand Your Ground (SYG) Legislation.
She said, “This is in keeping with the UNCs position on Stand Your Ground Legislation. Stand Your Ground does not only mean owning a gun and being able to defend your home with force. It also means standing your ground and protecting your communities.”
Ameen said the goal was to create a uniform policy that made it easier for residential and agricultural communities to secure and gate their neighbourhoods.
De Nobriga responded to this committee and the plans for the policy via his Facebook page on Saturday.
The MP said, “As a former Local Government Councillor and Chairman of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation, I can say clearly that what Minister Ameen announced at the Post Cabinet Press Briefing is a political gimmick. The UNC is exploiting the very real fear people are living with instead of addressing the root causes of crime.”
De Nobriga questioned Ameen’s remarks that this policy would fall under SYG.
He said, “The Law Reform Commission’s July 2025 paper, ‘Protection Against Home Invasion in Trinidad and Tobago: An Examination of Stand-Your-Ground and Other Self-Defence Laws’ makes no mention whatsoever of Local Government bodies.”
“For the Minister to now pretend otherwise is playing smart with foolishness and leveraging fear to gain support for the legislation while distracting citizens from the inaction of her own Ministry when it comes to its core functions,” he added.
De Nobriga said the proposed policy would create further division within society, with under-resourced communities being left behind. He also questioned as to whether the gating of communities would restrict one’s constitutional right to movement within public spaces.
He said, “Wealthy communities will gate themselves and hire security while poorer ones will be left behind. It also raises constitutional questions about gating public roads and restricting freedom of movement.”
The MP further criticised the composition of the committee, he said, “What is worse is that the committee being proposed appears to be made up of politicians, not technocrats. Where are the subject matter experts in planning, municipal engineering and land use who can provide real guidance in creating this policy? Where is the extensive public consultation that should be led by Local Government bodies who are closest to our communities and understand residents’ realities?”
De Nobriga noted the creation of a committee to draft a policy was not a crime prevention policy.
“I recognise that citizens are desperate for safety. But let’s be clear, announcements at a Post Cabinet Briefing cannot substitute for a credible crime plan,” he stated.
Adding, “This Government has failed to deal with the social fallout of its own job cuts and policy decisions. Instead, it exploits fear and offers gimmicks.”
