Shastri Boodan
Public Utilities Minister and Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives Barry Padarath is calling on the public to lobby the Opposition to support any measures aimed at fighting crime, whether through legislation or operational initiatives.
Speaking to Guardian Media on Saturday, Padarath said the Government would reintroduce the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Bill, 2026, in the House of Representatives.
“I urge the national community to call upon the Opposition to lend its support to any crime-fighting mechanism, whether it’s legislatively or operationally,” he said.
Padarath was speaking before the start of Ganesh Utsav celebrations at his Couva South constituency office on Camden Road.
He said the Minister of National Security had made a comprehensive statement in Parliament on Friday regarding the planned reintroduction of the ZOSO Bill.
“We believe that it is one of the areas in our arsenal in the continuation in the fight against crime,” Padarath said.
He noted that the current State of Emergency (SoE) is due to end on September 17, but said the Government was working on other crime-fighting measures.
“While on the 17th (September 2026) the State of Emergency will come to an end and much more will be said about the State of Emergency, the Minister of National Security, Homeland Security, together with the Minister of Defence and the Honourable Attorney General have been working assiduously in terms of other areas of crime-fighting mechanisms that can be implemented both operationally and through legislation,” he said.
Padarath described the ZOSO Bill as one of several pieces of legislation being pursued by the Government that would combine national security measures with social development.
“Therefore you get a holistic approach towards the fight against crime,” he said.
Padarath said the Government had been proactive in identifying both legislative and operational support for its crime-fighting strategy.
“I’m almost certain that over the next couple of days you will hear a lot more about the operationalising of that ZOSO Bill as well as what it will entail and what difference there will be from the last time it was introduced into the Parliament compared to this time that the Honourable Attorney General will pilot when he brings the Bill to the House of Representatives,” he said.
Asked whether the Government expected Opposition support for the legislation, Padarath was critical of the Opposition’s previous position.
“The Opposition has been obstructionist from day one,” he said.
“They are not interested about nation building and therefore we plan for all scenarios.”
Padarath said the Government was not depending on Opposition support, adding that its focus was on doing what was in the best interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
He also expressed support for the introduction of ZOSO measures in his own constituency, saying Couva South had experienced murders and other serious crimes.
“And if it can bring about a change and a reduction in that, Couva South is prepared to have ZOSO in our own constituency,” he said.
Also addressing the gathering were Indian High Commissioner Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit and Works Minister Jearlean John, who delivered greetings to mark the occasion.
