1 week ago
4
Otto Carrington
Senior Reporter
Port-of-Spain Mayor Chinua Alleyne has warned that the capital city could face serious sanitation challenges following Carnival 2026, as deep cuts to the City Corporation’s budget and the closure of CEPEP threaten the traditional post-Carnival clean-up operations.
Carnival in Port-of-Spain includes J’Ouvert, the Junior and Senior Parade of the Bands, and several other large national events that place enormous pressure on municipal services. For several years, clean-up operations were jointly coordinated and funded by the Port-of-Spain City Corporation (POSCC) and the National Carnival Commission (NCC), with the involvement of multiple stakeholders, contractors and state agencies, including CEPEP and the Solid Waste Management Company Limited (SWMCOL). However, Alleyne said the city was now in an uncertain position.
“With the closure of CEPEP and the drastic reduction in the city’s budgetary allocation for 2026, the council is deeply concerned that Port-of-Spain will not be clean on Ash Wednesday morning,” Alleyne said.
The mayor revealed that the city’s first formal meeting with the Minister of Rural Development and Local Government, Khadijah Ameen, on plans to ensure a clean capital after Carnival 2026 was held on Wednesday.
According to Alleyne, Ameen indicated that her ministry will take responsibility for directly employing and paying workers through the National Programme for the Upkeep of Public Spaces to carry out clean-up operations across all municipalities during the Carnival period. The programme is expected to run from February 2 to February 28.
While welcoming the initiative, Alleyne said he advised the minister that the city itself currently has no funding to execute Carnival clean-up operations.
Alleyne explained that Carnival clean-up has traditionally been funded primarily through four key budgetary votes, all of which have been significantly reduced. Overtime for daily-rated workers fell from $4.02 million in 2025 to $2.25 million in 2026; materials and supplies were reduced from $2.13 million to $1.35 million; short-term employment dropped from $4.64 million to $3.3 million; and other contracted services declined sharply from $20.91 million to $13.49 million—amounting to cuts of more than $10 million overall.
“These reductions severely impact our ability to mobilise labour, procure supplies and contract the services required to restore the city after Carnival,” Alleyne said.
The mayor said the matter was again raised during a subsequent meeting with the minister in the Ministry of Local Government, Barry Padarath, on Thursday, where he reiterated the need for dedicated resources to ensure clean-up operations.
“We are now awaiting confirmation of what resources will be committed to this effort,” Alleyne said.
As the Carnival season approaches, Ameen has begun coordinating with key stakeholders to ensure comprehensive sanitation measures are in place for Carnival 2026.
On Monday, the minister met with National Carnival Commission CEO Keiba Jacob Mottley to discuss a coordinated national approach to sanitation for all NCC-hosted Carnival activities.
Ameen emphasised the importance of close collaboration between municipal corporations and NCC regional coordinators to ensure seamless planning and execution of sanitation operations.
She has also engaged Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath, whose portfolio includes responsibility for SWMCOL. Further meetings will also be held.
Ameen has expressed confidence that the collaborative approach will result in a successful operation, ensuring a clean and sanitary environment for Carnival 2026.
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