00:00People are adamant and we want to shut down FET and shut down steel pan.
00:05Nothing is further from the truth. Nothing is further from the truth.
00:10Prime Minister Kamla Pasal-Bissessa during the first sitting of the House of Representatives for 2026 on Friday,
00:16giving her response to the concerns raised by FET promoters and other stakeholders
00:21about the impact of her administration's war on noise pollution on Carnival 2026.
00:26Late last year, the government banned the FETs at the Brown Mower Stadium
00:30and placed severe restrictions on FETs at the Haisley Crawford Stadium.
00:35So we are dealing with noise pollution and if you live anywhere near one of these venues,
00:39you will know what it is like night after night, the pounding that goes on.
00:43And the Minister here of Culture, Minister Michel Benjamin, will tell you what is it,
00:47$147 million given for a steel pan for this Carnival coming.
00:51In addition to what we are giving to the unsponsored steel pans,
00:58in addition,
00:59$147 unsponsored steel pans are being funded by the Ministry from this country.
01:10The Prime Minister outlined her administration's legislative agenda for 2026,
01:15which, among other objectives, is intended to tackle noise from FETs, music trucks, bars, and residential parties.
01:23It is an agenda that will also see the latter part of the FET season
01:28and the parade of the bands on Carnival Monday and Tuesday on February 16th and 17th,
01:34occurring without Trinidad and Tobago being under a state of emergency.
01:38So we do not intend to extend that SOE beyond January 31st.
01:43Instead, we will come, as we are doing later today, with the Special Zones Act.
01:50The SOE, which has been in effect in Trinidad and Tobago,
01:54without a curfew or limitations on public gatherings,
01:57was declared in July of last year, 2025, under the UNC-led government.
02:02It was extended twice via the government's majority in the lower house,
02:05but a further extension would have required the support of independent senators.
02:10Let us not dis the SOE.
02:15By midnight December last year,
02:18our national murder rate was brought down by 42%.
02:22That is the largest decline in our nation's history
02:32and one of the most significant drops globally in 2025.
02:37The Prime Minister gave credit to the leadership and members of the Police Service and the Defence Force,
02:43as well as members of her government.
02:45We are committed to returning safety to our country.
02:48We will lock in some of the benefits derived from the SOE
02:51to continue to treat gang-related homicides, violence and criminal activity,
02:55as we propose to enact, based on the Jamaican model,
03:00zones of special operations, laws similar to which obtains in other jurisdictions.
03:07I saw, I'm honouraging from the research, Hong Kong, I think Nigeria, several countries.
03:12The Prime Minister said she had spoken with Jamaica's Prime Minister
03:16about zones of special operations there.
03:19The debate on the 2026 Law Reform Zones of Special Operations, Special Security
03:25and Community Development Measures Bill for Trinidad and Tobago
03:29was set to begin later on Friday in the House of Representatives.
03:34Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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