“Business as usual is no longer an option” – T&T PM urges stronger intelligence sharing on crime, poverty, climate risks

Warning that the Caribbean cannot afford to continue along its current development path, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Thursday called for urgent action, stronger regional cooperation, and smarter use of technology to confront mounting threats ranging from poverty and inequality to crime and climate change.
The Prime Minister delivered the charge at the Trinidad and Tobago launch of the Regional Human Development Report 2025 for Latin America and the Caribbean, titled “Under Pressure: Recalibrating the Future of Development in Latin America and the Caribbean”.
Persad-Bissessar described the report as both a warning and a roadmap, noting that despite years of progress, the region remains “fragile” and vulnerable to shocks. “Business as usual is no longer an option,” she declared.
According to the report, poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean was cut in half in one generation, yet one in four people still lives below the poverty line, while another third remains “one shock away” from falling into hardship. The Prime Minister cautioned that the COVID-19 pandemic had worsened these vulnerabilities, reversing decades of steady gains on the Human Development Index.
“Today, our region faces uncertainty. Levels that are higher than the global: 50 per cent higher than the global average. And the truth is, crises no longer come one at a time. That is what this report rightly calls a polycrisis. The conclusion is undeniable. Business as usual is no longer an option. Here in the Caribbean, we live these contradictions every day. Growth is recorded in reports, yet inequality continues and endures in our households,” the PM said.
The T&T Prime Minister identified three “stressors” highlighted by the report: technological disruption, social fragmentation, and the climate emergency. To confront them, Persad-Bissessar urged the creation of debt-for-climate swaps, catastrophe-linked financing, stronger regional value chains in food, health, and renewable energy, and expanded carbon risk pools and early warning systems.
On crime, she pressed for “stronger intelligence sharing, coordinated maritime security, and recovery strategies that rebuild trust in communities,” stressing that regional cooperation is essential to safeguarding people’s lives and livelihoods.
The Prime Minister also underscored the potential of digital transformation and artificial intelligence to improve education, healthcare, and public services – but only if governance structures ensure equitable access. “If we fail to act, they can deepen our divides,” she warned.
“Digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and new technologies are not mere tools. They are accelerators of human development. When harnessed responsibly, they can expand access to education, they can improve public services, and they can create new pathways of opportunity. But if we fail to act, they can also deepen our divides. Our national strategy must enshrine digital access, AI governance, and innovation ecosystems that empower every citizen,” she explained.
Persad-Bissessar reaffirmed her Government’s commitment to people-centred development, promising investments in resilient infrastructure, community empowerment, and inclusive institutions. “These are not abstract policy goals. They are the foundations of a prosperous future for Trinidad and Tobago and sustainable development for the whole Caribbean,” she said.
Closing her address, she called on Governments, civil society, the private sector, youth, and the diaspora to “turn risk into resilience, pressure into progress, and uncertainty into opportunity.”
“Under pressure, Trinidad and Tobago will not retreat – we will lead,” she affirmed.