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Stuart Young is on the eve of becoming prime minister. This will be the result of a process designed to have him appointed under section 76 (1) (a) of the Constitution and behind which the Members of the House of Representatives of the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) appear to have closed ranks.
Young has a fresh opportunity to embrace enlightened socio-economic reform and, by analogy to the mantra of Star Trek, to boldly go where no prime minister has gone before.
(via PNM.)
Assuming the PNM is returned to office as a result of the soon forthcoming general election, will Stuart Young, therefore, make a difference as the head of a next-generation PNM government?
Stuart (as he is now referred to in headlines) has displayed early awareness of where differences need to be made. He has disclosed certain intentions and some broad plans. These touch on critical issues in respect of which the Dr Keith Rowley-led government has been guilty of fatal inaction.
Despite Stuart’s troubling oversensitivity to views different from his, those statements—which point to what a government he leads might do—are worthy of examination.
Stuart has declared a mission of engagement of youth. He has expressly acknowledged that “not everyone is academically driven” and has stated that:
(via NCC.)
“One of the things I’m planning for the future is how do we change the educational curriculum. How do we intervene now and start to shed ourselves of the colonial curriculum that we have?
“How do we make it more relevant today to give our future citizens the best opportunities not only here, but globally?”
Stuart also seems to understand the achievements and further potential of our performing arts.
In one of his very recent statements, he reportedly declared his appreciation for steelpan music to the extent of reportedly saying “pan is life” and that “one of the things I intend to do, is to spend a lot of time focusing on the local art forms, and culture. This is where we need to build, to build up, to reach up.”
Photo: Pan Trinbago.
Hopefully, if Stuart wins office as prime minister for a full term, he will not dither as the Rowley Government has dithered over violent crime and socio-economic reform, which prioritises reform of the education system.
Perhaps he will accept my advocacy for the panyard model to have a significant function in supporting disenchanted youths and re-orienting them to look forward to the future, as well as having the education system embrace the performing arts more fully.
Perhaps Stuart might also seek to inform himself of the ways in which pan manufacturing can be boosted and thereby diversify the economy.
Photo: Best of Trinidad.
The failure of the Rowley administration to deal with the issue of violent crime is also difficult to forgive as the prime minister is the head of the grandiosely named National Security Council, a seat which Stuart will presumably occupy.
This failure and the likely linkage with the failure to reform the educational curriculum, which is destructive of the self-esteem of those with no aptitude for conventional academic tests, cannot be airbrushed out of assessments of Rowley’s flawed legacy.
A recent World Bank report declaring education in crisis in the Caribbean includes criticism of “the Caribbean’s highly stratified secondary education system, which entrenches social inequalities”.
This is reflected in the words of an unnamed contributor to the Teen Times supplement in a regional newspaper last week asserting that if the socio-economic issues affecting young people are not addressed nothing will change in respect of youth violence, further stating that “the country’s youth are growing up in a pressure cooker of economic struggles, social instability and lack of opportunity”.
Commentators have emphasised that a core contributor to dysfunction in youth is a lack of equality of opportunity to obtain an education relatable to varying aptitudes and to our needs.
The economy is likely to falter further while the pressure to obtain supplies of natural gas intensifies. If sincere, Stuart Young has no time to lose in trying to mitigate the consequences of the socio-economic pressures that have been recklessly ignored.
Large parts of our social fabric have been devoured, and our reputation internationally has been gravely damaged.
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Martin G Daly SC is a prominent attorney-at-law. He is a former Independent Senator and past president of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago.
He is chairman of the Pat Bishop Foundation and a steelpan music enthusiast.
Martin Daly’s pan yard model as a crime intervention strategy, while well-intentioned, is fundamentally short-sighted because it fails to address the structural and systemic drivers of crime. Crime is not simply a result of a lack of cultural or recreational opportunities—it is deeply rooted in social, economic, and political inequalities. A more effective approach requires a systems thinking, multipronged, and multi-layered strategy that tackles crime at multiple levels.
The Limitations of the Pan Yard Model
Daly’s approach centres on the idea that engagement in steel pan music can steer youths away from crime. While this may provide temporary diversion and social cohesion, it fails to address the core issues that fuel crime, such as:
Economic Disenfranchisement – Crime thrives where economic opportunities are absent. Many young offenders are products of systemic poverty, unemployment, and lack of access to legitimate economic pathways. Without meaningful employment and financial security, crime remains an attractive alternative.
Weak Educational and Social Services – A failing education system and lack of social support leave many young people without skills, qualifications, or the resilience to navigate difficult life circumstances. Music can offer an emotional outlet but does not replace robust educational reform and vocational training.
Community Disintegration and Gangs – Organised crime groups provide structure, identity, and financial incentives that a pan yard cannot match. Criminal networks exploit economic desperation, and without stronger law enforcement, rehabilitation, and reintegration strategies, these cycles will continue.
Corruption and Weak Governance – Trinidad and Tobago suffers from high levels of corruption, inefficiency, and lack of political will to tackle crime at its root. A pan yard does not address the failure of policing, judicial delays, or the inability to dismantle organised crime networks.
Generational Trauma and Mental Health – Many young offenders come from violent homes, suffer from trauma, and lack mental health support. A music-based approach does not provide psychological intervention, therapy, or conflict resolution strategies.
A Systems Thinking Alternative
A holistic, evidence-based approach would require multiple interventions working together:
Economic Transformation – Investment in skills training, microfinance, and entrepreneurship to create economic pathways that outcompete criminal opportunities.
Education and Early Intervention – Strengthening schools, mentorship, and early childhood intervention to prevent young people from being drawn into criminal lifestyles.
Justice System Reform – Swift and fair prosecution of criminals, alternatives to incarceration, and rehabilitation programmes that reintegrate offenders.
Stronger Community Policing and Intelligence-Led Crime Prevention – Law enforcement must build trust with communities, while also dismantling criminal organisations at the leadership level.
Mental Health and Social Services – Expanding counselling, family support, and trauma-informed care to break the intergenerational cycles of violence.
Governance and Anti-Corruption Measures – Strengthening institutions to eliminate political-criminal links, reduce police corruption, and ensure justice is applied equally.
Conclusion
Daly’s pan yard model is at best a small, supplementary tool within a broader anti-crime strategy. However, it is nowhere near sufficient as a standalone solution. A systems thinking approach recognises that crime is a complex, adaptive problem that requires interventions across multiple domains—economic, social, legal, and psychological. Addressing crime in Trinidad and Tobago demands deep structural change, not just cultural engagement.