Kejan Haynes
The BBC brought its popular World Questions town hall to Trinidad last night at the Central Bank Auditorium discussing wide-ranging topics like crime, climate change and energy dependency, race relations, and LGBT+ rights, featuring questions, and comments, from a lively audience.
The evening's panel featured Minister of Energy Stuart Young, Economist Dr Marlene Attzs, Lawrence J. Arjoon Chief Executive Officer, The Heroes Foundation and Tabaquite MP Anita Haynes of the opposition UNC.
Hosted by the BBC's Royal Correspondent, Jonny Dymond, who began the discussion describing Trinidad and Tobago as the most prosperous country in the Caribbean with a rich culture, a stable democracy, a growing tourist industry and valuable natural resources. But he acknowledged issues like rising crime, immigration, and a reliance on oil.
The first question packed the most punch, with a gut-wrenching question from an audience member whose father had been murdered recently, saying the TTPS hadn't even appointed an investigator, and his report to the Police Complaints Authority seemed to be falling on deaf ears as well. The question: Why weren't successive governments able to get a handle on crime?
In a later segment of the conversation, an audience member asked why it took the BBC coming to Trinidad to host such an important discussion on these issues. MP Anita Haynes and Minister Young said they were both willing to participate in such debates, at which point Dymond interrupted and asked them to make a commitment right then and there to the audience to participate in such a debate in the future, to which they agreed.
Under the microscope for most of the event, Energy Minister Stuart Young took some flak as he emphatically called on the public not to "bastardise" the energy industry saying it remains vital to the local and international economy. But he had to be reminded the question was about plans to move away from a dependency on hydrocarbons. He also faced some jeers for incorrectly stating the Equal Opportunity Act protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
BBC World Questions: Trinidad and Tobago will air on BBC World Service English on Saturday 10 June and available online after that at bbc.com/worldserviceradio