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  • 1 year ago

After much lobbying by Chief Secretary Farely Augustine, the Opposition heeds his call and withholds support for one of the two Tobago Bills in the Lower House ... denying Government the requisite three-fourths majority needed. Here's the story.

Transcript
00:00Two bills intended to deliver autonomy for Tobago hit the lower house. The
00:05session starts off with much opposition pursuant from a morning briefing by the
00:10THA chief secretary Farley Augustin seeking support for more consultation
00:14with the people of Tobago before affecting changes that will impact
00:18their lives. What the outline is basically some clauses in the bill that
00:25may violate core principles of self-determination and the current
00:29administration of the THA and Madam Speaker we have genuine concern with
00:34respect to this particular manner in which we are conducting today's business
00:37because the chief secretary is raising serious concerns and at the end of it he
00:42asked that no further that they don't proceed further with this particular
00:47bill. While at the committee of the whole stage for the act to repeal the Tobago
00:53House of Assembly Act and to provide for the powers and functions of the Tobago
00:57Island government, the Prime Minister maintains consultation took place for
01:02years. I am shocked that the member for Baratayerson could so cavalierly
01:11intervene in the parliamentary proceedings to play this game. Madam
01:17Speaker the matter before us is a matter that has been in the public domain for
01:23years, in this house for years. Dr. Keith Rowley said he received a WhatsApp
01:27message from Augustin two minutes prior but had not received any official
01:32correspondence to his office. The chief secretary of the Tobago House of
01:37Assembly is now intervening in that matter offering eight pages of legal, I
01:44don't know who the legal lawyers are, telling the Parliament to stop its
01:49proceedings because he through the member for Baratayerson and other
01:53persons have found another way or other things to be done under the rubric of
02:00consultation Madam Speaker. How did we get here if not by a series of years of
02:07consultation? Back at the house stage a division was taken and even the United
02:12Opposition was unable to stop the passage of the bill which required a
02:16simple majority. It was 24 and 10 against. Then came time to go back into
02:22the committee for the bill's big brother, an act to amend the Constitution of the
02:28Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to accord self-government to Tobago and
02:32for related matters. There was a flurry of back-and-forth between the opposition
02:37and government benches. While the intention of the bill, this constitutional
02:42amendment bill is saying give the right of self-determination, the law is not
02:46really giving them the right to self-determination. Central government
02:49will still have a stronghold over the executive arm. If the member does not
02:54have an amendment then Madam Speaker I would like us to proceed please. Thank
02:59you. I never said not to speak, you can speak for as long as you wish. Enter the
03:03concern over the various definitions of Tobago. The persons who had sent
03:11information to the Honourable Prime Minister by WhatsApp. These are some of
03:17the concerns that they raised and so we have taken their concerns on board
03:22including the letter that was sent since 2021. These are the concerns that were
03:28raised and Madam Speaker if they are the mouthpieces for the TPP then Madam
03:35Speaker they should be well aware of what is before us today. Although the
03:40preamble suggests both Trinidad and Tobago share law-making functions, will
03:46Tobago be out trumped? These laws that the Tobago legislature will pass are
03:51actually going to be subordinate laws to what the National Parliament passed. So
03:55it's not going to be that there's an equality of status with respect to the
03:59Tobago legislature. So again this in itself does not achieve what the
04:06government's narrative is. They are just fooling people with this amendment. The
04:10objective was to give Tobago additional powers, powers that they do not now have.
04:18Madam Speaker the objective was not to have a separate Tobago from Trinidad. So
04:25Madam Speaker the law-making powers that govern Trinidad and Tobago as a country
04:31will continue to be done in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.
04:37Attorney-at-law Saddam Hussein who led the opposition's queries asked why the
04:42appeal stage of the dispute resolution committee was stopped at the court of
04:46appeal stage and not the Privy Council, much like election petitions. He was told
04:53that comparisons were made with other jurisdictions before this decision was
04:57taken. When taken back to the House this bill which needed a three-fourths
05:01special majority failed to get the required support. Our members with a
05:07division of 21 members voting for, 16 members voting against and no abstentions.
05:15The motion for the third reading of the Constitutional Amendment, Tobago
05:20Self-Government Bill 2020 is not approved.
05:25Urvashi Tiwari, Rub-N-Ryne TV 6 News.
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