The Ministry of Defence is recruiting additional members for the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF), with Defence Minister Wayne Sturge saying the expansion is necessary to meet the country’s growing security and regional responsibilities.
Sturge also announced that TTDF personnel will soon receive outstanding salary arrears following the settlement of wage negotiations, while the Government has increased ex gratia payments to $250,000.
The minister made the disclosures during Wednesday’s meeting of the Standing Finance Committee as parliamentarians examined the Ministry’s proposed $461.537 million allocation for 2027. He was responding to questions from Opposition MPs Stuart Young, Marvin Gonzales, Kareem Marcelle and others.
“We’ve settled wage negotiations and the men and women of the TTDF will, in short order, see payment of arrears,” Sturge said.
Sturge said the ministry’s remit now includes disaster management and emergency response and that recruitment is underway across all branches of the TTDF.
“There is a critical need for force expansion given our strategic importance arising out of our membership in the Shield of the Americas, as well as what is expected of us because of our geographical significance to the Counter Cartel Conference of the Americas,” he said.
The minister also announced that Cabinet has agreed to raise the retirement age for TTDF personnel across all formations.
He added that new systems have been introduced to prevent the loss or theft of ammunition.
“As you would recall, 28,000 rounds went missing and were presumed stolen under the last administration,” he said.
Sturge further confirmed that the Government has increased the ex gratia award by $25,000, bringing the payment to $250,000 when required.
However, funding for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) has been reduced from a revised estimate of $39.2 million in 2026 to $5 million in 2027.
Asked whether the CCC would be shut down, Sturge said the programme would instead be restructured using existing TTDF personnel, equipment and facilities.
“The intention is to restructure it using existing plant, equipment and personnel from the TTDF. As a result, there may be a need to hire lecturers and other professionals, so that $5 million would cover expenses related to that,” he said.
Young argued that the reduced allocation would be insufficient to fund a new CCC intake. However, Sturge maintained that the allocation would be adequate because the Government did not intend to continue operating the programme in its previous format, which included accommodation and what he described as “inflated salaries.”
He said TTDF personnel would provide most of the instruction, with the allocation covering any additional expertise required from outside the organisation.
One option under consideration is for recruits to enter through the Cadet Force, although the proposal has not yet been finalised.
“Once it’s explored and taken to Cabinet, and Cabinet makes a decision, we proceed from there. If there’s no agreement, we return to the drawing board and see if there is another way of conducting the programme,” he said.
Sturge added that a key objective of the restructuring exercise was eliminating the stipend currently paid to participants.
Asked whether the stipend paid to CCC members would be removed, the minister replied: “As it stands, there will no longer be a stipend in the new proposal, but that has not yet been taken to Cabinet for determination.”
The Military-Led Academic Training (MILAT) programme is also being restructured, Sturge said. Funding has been reduced from $17 million to $5 million, with the proposed model also involving participation through the Cadet Force.
Young noted that MILAT had been designed to assist young people who struggled in the traditional school system to obtain academic qualifications.
Meanwhile, Sturge confirmed that $500,000 has been allocated for preliminary work on a proposed military cemetery and multipurpose religious centre at Macqueripe. He said an abandoned cemetery already exists at the site and there is sufficient land available for development.
“We engaged the Chaguaramas Development Authority and expect feedback by year-end. Once we obtain Cabinet approval, we intend moving ahead with the designs,” he said.
The ministry has also allocated $5 million for the acquisition of drones for the Air Guard in 2027.
“Not the most expensive ones, but those that are efficient,” Sturge said.
He declined to reveal how many interceptor vessels would be acquired for the Coast Guard, saying only that they would be comparable in size to previous vessels. He also declined to discuss the operational capabilities of the drones to be purchased.
During consideration of the Ministry of Trade’s proposed $217.285 million allocation, Trade Minister Satyakama Maharaj responded to a range of Opposition questions.
Young urged Maharaj to address longstanding concerns over the decline of the local horse-racing industry. People’s National Movement MP Dominic Roman added that the industry’s deterioration was also affecting roads and communities near his constituency.
