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Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen responds to a question during a post-cabinet media conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, on August 28. Looking on is Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Eli Zakour. - Ayanna Kinsale

MINISTER of Local Government Khadijah Ameen said the government wants to support the denotion of new “gated communities” in response to public demand.

To this end, the government was creating an inter-ministerial committee to provide a policy and guidelines on gated communities, she told the post-cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, on August 28.

The measure will be in line with the government’s stand-your-ground legislation – now out for public consumption – and its policy on home invasions.

The committee will include officials from the ministries of the Local Government, Attorney General, Works, Agriculture, Public Utilities, Planning, Homeland Security and Health, plus from the Tobago House of Assembly and the TT Association of Local Government Authorities, Ameen said.

“What we recognise as a government is the need to empower citizens and communities to protect themselves. For this, we must have a uniform policy going forward.”

Ameen said the UNC had discussed the idea of gated communities in the 2023 local government election, despite some critics not understanding the role of local government in regulating these.

She said the demarcation of gated communities must not restrict the provision of public utilities or telecommunication services to residents of an area. She also noted such locales may be necessary access routes to other areas.

Ameen recalled some areas successfully denoting themselves as gated communities, such as in Valsayn South and Debe, which had co-operated with their local councils to do so, although other attempts had not succeeded.

Noting grey areas in the law in creating gated communities, she justified the inclusion of the AG’s Office on the committee.

Newsday asked about a conversation held about about the idea of creating a gated community at Harpe Place, Port of Spain, a “hot spot” area.

Ameen replied, “Where you have public spaces and there is a desire by the residents there to restrict traffic or to restrict persons who do not reside in that area from entering, or to monitor those who come in and out, there is a need for the regional corporation because they are responsible for the local roads.”

She said that owing to a national security aspect to gated communities, the Ministry of Homeland Security must also be involved in the committee.

“Those communities that have been successful in their application have been successful because the laws presently (sic) allow for public roads to have that restriction and the regional corporation has jurisdiction over them.”

Amid the committee being set up to examine laws and processes and to craft a uniform national policy on gated communities, she said at present, each local-government corporation relied on its own legal advice on how to proceed.

Ameen noted that existing purpose-built gated communities were governed by different regulations to those which would become newly-created gated communities.

Replying to another Newsday question, Ameen said many communities affected by crime had reached out to the government. She said many councillors had long advocated for gated communities and that the issue had also arisen at the UNC’s recent stand-your-ground consultations.

Saying it was up to the local regional corporation to approve or deny applications for gated communities, she noted two different approaches used in Valsayn North and Valsayn South, to different results.

Asked about the funding of individual proposals for gated communities, she said different communities might have different proposals.

One community may simply want a road barrier to be in place from 10 pm each night, Ameen said. Another area might wish to be able to monitor vehicles in the area, while another community may wish to restrict entry to only persons possessing access passes and vehicle stickers. Some communities may hire private security guards at their own expense, she added.

Ameen said the Ministry of Agriculture was on the committee because some residents of rural areas complained of praedial larceny, or of their remote areas being used for the stripping of stolen motor vehicles or as escape routes by criminals. She advocated the participation of residents in talks about gated communities so as to make them feel safer and involved.

Asked if gated communities could promote social or racial segregation, Ameen replied, “Crime does not happen by social or racial groups.”

She said the petitions the government had received to denote gated communities had not been drafted by race or social class. In fact, some areas were poor and rural, she related, such as by residents fed up of car-stripping.

Ameen said gated community applications were not done to restrict other people by their look or their racial profile but rather to restrict non-residents and suspicious vehicles such as those scoping out an area.

She said individuals from every creed, race and social bracket, were afforded the same protection by law.

“This is not only for built up areas or the suburbanised areas. This is for any community that feels that having that type of restriction will make then safer.”

DCP: Police hope to be consulted

DCP Junior Benjamin told Newsday, “I’d say upfront, the bottom-line is that we hope there would be some level of consultation with the police in this whole pursuit.

“I think regarding gated communities, there are a lot of pros and cons. Having gated communities could be used as a way of protection and safety for persons. But the criminal element could be one of those things they use for their own advantage.” Benjamin called for collaboration and understanding with the police in the question over the creation of gated communities.

“Because there is absolutely no place in TT that the police cannot go. Even if they have a gated community it doesn’t mean the police cannot go there.

“We would want to ensure that no matter what is done, it is done in a way that does not hinder the police from carrying out their duties without fear or favour, malice or ill-will.”

He reckoned that in this initiative the government was trying to seek the interests of the citizenry.

“The consultation would be very important and in that consultation we would look at both pros and cons.

“We would give our sentiments, especially from the commissioner’s standpoint (referring to commissioner Allister Guevarro), when asked, so we can share our views on it.

“At this present point in time I do not see any harm in those things, once it does not hinder the police from doing our duties based on the law.”

Diego Martin MP: It’s a ‘political gimmick’

Diego Martin Central MP Symon de Nobriga dismissed the initiative, in a statement to Newsday via WhatsApp.

He said as Diego Martin Regional Corporation former chairman, Ameen’s announcement was clearly “a political gimmick.”

“The UNC is exploiting the very real fear people are living with instead of addressing the root causes of crime.

“They have put tens of thousands of innocent citizens out of work since coming into office and now with their newest promise to cut contract workers in the Public Service, their answer to the crisis they themselves have created is panic buttons, buy dogs, put up gates and shoot first, kill first.”

He said unlike Ameen’s assertions, a 2025 Law Reform Commission paper on home invasion made no mention of local corporations.

“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?”

De Nobriga asked where were the extensive public consultation which local corporations – closest to communities – should lead.

“At its core, this proposal risks deepening inequality further, in the same way stand-your-ground legislation will.

“Wealthy communities will gate themselves and hire security while poorer ones will be left behind.”

He said it also raised constitutional questions about gating public roads and restricting freedom of movement.

“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.

“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.”