PM DOUBLES DOWN ON FINES AND CALLING TT A "LAWLESS DUMP"

Kamla Persad-Bissessar
5:41 PM · Jan 7, 2026 [via X (Twitter)]

FIX IT OR FACE THE LAW

Over the last few days my statement that the country is a lawless dump has been absolutely confirmed by the high number of traffic infractions and deliberately lawless drivers being fined.

The lawlessness was compounded by the blatant dishonesty on show from many of those ticketed who pretended to have been caught by surprise by the defects in their vehicles or expired documentation. I want to be clear, their dishonesty and pretense fools no one, the vast majority of citizens who were ticketed knew about their vehicle defects and expired documentation well in advance of being ticketed and therefore fully deserved their fines for their lawless behavior.

The entitlement, indiscipline and misdirected priorities of some lawless citizens who inconvenience and endanger law abiding citizens will not be tolerated anymore. No discipline will be met with no tolerance.

No one will sway me from cleaning up this lawless dump to benefit citizens who try to live decent law-abiding lives. Any citizen is free to mash up the place and misbehave if they want to, but i guarantee that I will continue to meet lawlessness with the swift and brutal retribution that I promised.

Yesterday Ministers Eli Zakour and Roger Alexander provided information to me that a small minority of traffic wardens, licensing officers and TTPS officers have been abusing the ticketing system and terrorizing law-abiding citizens. I cannot let this wicked behaviour continue and must now move to provide protection to law abiding citizens from delinquent drivers as well as misbehaving law enforcement officers.

When I was sworn in as your Prime Minister I said “ I will never be detached from your feelings and aspirations. I will never do my own thing while the country cries out for their needs. I will always be listening. I will be following you. You will be my priority. You must always know that you have leaders who cares and understands your problems”

Therefore in the coming weeks the government will go to parliament to propose to implement the following reforms to make it mandatory for drivers to be given time to repair defects before the fines are enforced.

Re:- Fixed Penalty Notice Warning System - Offences listed in the ninth schedule and timeframe to fix are as follows:-

#35 - No identification lights for the illumination of identification marks on vehicles at night - 3 DAYS

#37 - Number of passengers to be carried not printed on right front door of taxi - 3 DAYS

# 39 -No Tare and M.G.W painted on vehicles - 3 DAYS

#40 - Vehicle with defective fittings (Licensing Authority has confirmed that several defects such as damaged windscreens etc are covered under this violation) - 7 DAYS

#41 - Vehicle without silencers or fitted with cut outs - 3 DAYS

#42 - Unauthorised lights to front or rear of vehicles -3 DAYS

#43 - Unauthorised letters and figures on vehicle -3 DAYS

#44 - Vehicles without two head lamps - 3 DAYS

#45 -Vehicle without park lights - 3 DAYS

#46 - Vehicle without tail lights - 3 DAYS

#48 - No “left hand drive” notice affixed to appropriate vehicle - 3 DAYS

#63 - Vehicle without horn -3 DAYS

#64 - Permitting excess sparks, smoke or visible vapour from vehicle -7 DAYS

#72 - Vehicle without reflecting mirror - 3 DAYS

#74 - Use of noisy vehicle - 7 DAYS

#76 - Use of vehicle with no windshield wiper of defective wiper - 3 DAYS

#79 - Public Service vehicle without spare tyre - 3 DAYS

#82 - Placing of advertisement on side of window of taxi- 3 DAYS

There will absolutely be NO REDUCTION in traffic fines and strict enforcement will continue until these reforms are made. The law will be applied equally across the country, it does not matter if you are UNC, PNM or any other grouping, it does not matter if you are rich or poor, if you are from Debe or Diego Martin, if you break the traffic laws, ANYBODY GETS IT !!!

-END-

Kamla Persad-Bissessar

FOR YOUR REFERENCE BELOW IS A LIST OF EVERYTHING THAT HAS INCREASED SINCE JANUARY 1ST 2026 MANY OF THEM DOUBLING.
This is an item-by-item breakdown of what each fee is for, what it was, and what it is now.

PASSPORTS

  • Standard adult passport: $250 → $500
  • 48-page business passport: $350 → $700
  • Expedited processing: $300 → $600
  • Lost/misplaced passport: up to $1,000 → $2,000
  • Child passport: $150 → $300

CITIZENSHIP & NATURALISATION

  • CARICOM/Commonwealth application: $50 → $50
  • CARICOM/Commonwealth approval: $400 → $800
  • Non-Commonwealth application: $100 → $200
  • Non-Commonwealth approval: $1,000 → $1,800
  • Minor citizenship approval: $400 → $500
  • Minor registration approval: $400 → $500
  • Section 11(2) approval: $800 → $1,000
  • Authenticated copies: $50 → $100
  • Renunciation of citizenship: $100 → $200
  • Witnessing declarations: $50 → $100
  • Oath of allegiance: $50 → $100

BIRTHS & DEATHS REGISTRATION FEES

  • Registration of a child (over 12 months) — $0 → $100/$150
  • Declaration of birth in another district — $0 → $20
  • Correcting errors in register — $0 → $30
  • Search fees (general) — $0 → $50
  • Search fees (specific entry) — $0 → $20
  • Certified copies — $0 → $25/$30
  • Certification of certificate — $0 → $50
  • Re-registration of wrongly recorded birth — $0 → $100

FIREARMS & PEPPER SPRAY

  • Firearm dealer licence: $1,000 → $2,000
  • Gunsmith licence: $200 → $400
  • Firearm import permit: $10 → $20
  • Permit to take firearm abroad: $10 → $20
  • Duplicate firearm licence: $40 → $80
  • Firearm licence renewal: $500 → $1,000
  • Pepper spray import permit: $100 → $200
  • Pepper spray permit: $100 → $200

CUSTOMS & PORTS

  • Customs declaration fee: $40 → $80
  • 20-ft container exam: $375 → $750
  • 40-ft container exam: $525 → $1,050
  • Container processing: $525 → $1,050
  • ALCOHOL & TOBACCO
  • Rum & spirits: $79.25 → $158.50 per litre
  • Beer: $5.14 → $10.28 per litre
  • Cigarettes (pack of 20): $5.26 → $10.52

NEW TAXES & LEVIES

  • Environmental tyre fee: $20 → $40 per tyre
  • Landlord registration: $0 → $2,500
  • Landlord rental tax: 0% → 2.5% / 3.5%
  • Single-use plastics: 0% → 5% CIF
    Bank & insurance asset levy: 0% → 0.25%

ELECTRICITY

  • Commercial/industrial surcharge: $0 → $0.05 per kWh

ROAD TRAFFIC FINES (gazetted Dec 31, enforced 2026)

  • Multiple offences: $1,000 → $2,000
  • Other offences: $1,000 → $1,500
  • Serious offences: $2,000 → $3,750
    Lower-tier offences: $750 → $1,125
  • Some offences reduced: $6,000 → $4,500

ENVIRONMENT & REGULATION

  • Tyre disposal offences: $3,000 → $5,000
  • Pesticide offences: $2,000 → $4,000
  • Brewers’ offences: $4,000 → $10,000
  • Wildlife permits: $100 → $200

VEHICLES & FUEL

  • Luxury EV concessions: ON → OFF
  • Returning nationals vehicle relief: ON → OFF
  • LPG (≥100lb cylinders): subsidised → −$0.50 per lb

NIS (PHASED)

  • Employee contribution: +0% → +0.1%
  • Employer contribution: +0% → +0.2%
  • Retirement age increase from 2028