In Brief
- ‘Swine Culture’ Accusation: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar accused the PNM of fostering a culture of lawlessness and mediocrity, vowing to ruthlessly cut corrupt welfare and employment schemes.
- Parliamentary Division: A rare division was called when the PM sought an extension to her speaking time, revealing 27 Government MPs voting for the extension and a single PNM MP voting against.
- Leadership Legitimacy Questioned: The PM labelled Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles a ‘political ghost,’ claiming she only secured the position because the PNM’s base refused to support Stuart Young due to his mixed ancestry.
- Warning Against Unrest: Persad-Bissessar issued a stern warning against inciting civil disorder, stating that any unrest crossing ‘east of the lighthouse’ would be met with a swift and brutal response.
- ‘Bikini Budget’ Retort: Dismissing the Opposition’s description of the budget as a ‘bikini budget,’ the PM condemned the remark as “perverted innuendo” and promised to politically defeat her opponents.
By Prior Beharry
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has accused the Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) of entrenching a “swine culture” of lawlessness and relying on “race grifting” to divide the nation.
She was speaking in the Lower House on Monday during the 2026/2027 Budget debate.
In a highly charged contribution, the Prime Minister invoked the sociological concept coined by the late Dr Morgan Job, a former UNC government minister, claiming the PNM deliberately fostered a society that rejects critical thinking and personal accountability.
PNM Diego Martin West MP Hans Des Vignes was the only MP in the House when Leader of Government Business Barry Padarath asked that the PM be allowed to speak until the end of her contribution.
Deputy Speaker Dr Aiyna Ali put the vote, and while there was a loud shout of ayes, Persad-Bissessar called for a division. The vote revealed 27 Government MPs voting for and one against.
In her contribution, the Prime Minister said, “The PNM encouraged a breakdown of law and order. The normalisation of lawlessness, lack of discipline, and general anti-social behaviour occurred under them.”
She accused the Opposition of turning temporary welfare programmes, state contracts, and government employment into permanent schemes for dishonest income generation, vowing that her government will ruthlessly cut non-performing agencies and corrupt employment schemes.
“The PNM’s entrenching of swine culture in Trinidad and Tobago has to be uprooted for this country to prosper,” she said.
The Prime Minister then turned her guns on the Member for Arima, Leader of the Opposition, Pennelope Beckles, dismissing her as a “political ghost” with no legislative achievements.
Persad-Bissessar boldly claimed that the Arima MP only secured the leadership of the PNM because the party’s base refused to support the Member for Port of Spain North, Stuart Young, due to his mixed Chinese and Indian heritage.
She said, “If MP Young was of Afro-Trinidadian descent, she would never have seen leadership of the PNM, that is a fact.”
Persad-Bissessar said, “It’s pure unadulterated hatred and racism from the PNM base towards MP Young’s ancestry that got her that position. She is a placeholder because they have no one else.”
She accused the Opposition Leader of spending the last 18 months engaging in “race grifting” to motivate their base.
Persad-Bissessar alleged that the PNM, aided by “one percent” media outlets and local drug mafia financiers, might be hoping to incite civil disorder.
She said, “You all can do what you want west of the lighthouse, mash up the place for all I care, but the day it crosses east of the lighthouse, you all will get a swift and brutal response from my government. Remember that.”
Addressing the Opposition Leader’s characterisation of the fiscal package as a “bikini budget,” Persad-Bissessar dismissed the remark as “perverted innuendo.”
She likened the comment to the “sick obsession with women’s underwear” of a former PNM Prime Minister, stating that the country expected sound economic arguments, not skimpy, sexualised metaphors.
The Prime Minister said, “This is not the Kamla and UNC you all got accustomed to. I will call you all out, I will drag you out, I will beat you to a frazzle politically and then I will beat the frazzle.”
