00:00They will be sworn in at the first sitting of Parliament.
00:04The estimated date will be around the 16th of May.
00:11So non-Cabinet members are sworn in at the first sitting of the Parliament.
00:17Mr. Augustine said there has been no autonomy for Tobago,
00:21with previous ministerial appointments for Tobago East and West.
00:25The truth is, for the last 20 years or so, Tobago has had ministers in Cabinet.
00:32But we still did not get autonomy.
00:34So clearly being in Cabinet does not guarantee you getting the autonomy that is required.
00:39The work that is required is actually being outside of Cabinet, independent of the Cabinet,
00:47and using your standalone position, your position of independence,
00:51to negotiate a better deal for Tobago.
00:55That has been what we advocated on the campaign trail.
00:59That is what we told the Morgunians we would do, and that is exactly what we are doing.
01:04Here is a reminder of what Mr. Augustine said on the just-concluded campaign trail
01:09about capturing the Tobago East and West seats.
01:13In Tobago, we have an opportunity again to send two people to the Parliament whose job,
01:23whose focus is not a Cabinet, but whose focus is Tobago's freedom,
01:29whose focus is not on a big position, but whose focus is on the well-being of the people of Tobago.
01:35I want to tell you that from where we stand, Cabinet is for fine China.
01:43Meantime, he has chosen someone to replace Mr. Samson, who has since resigned,
01:48but is keeping that name close to his chest.
01:52I have considered someone, yes, but I want Mr. Samson duly sworn in.
02:01I have already started the conversation with the President,
02:04so it's a great they are expecting me to appoint someone which is sworn.
02:09Okay, so that person will be appointed before the swearing-in?
02:12Um, most likely, because Mr. Samson has already scheduled his resignation.
02:20And with the ever-changing political landscape,
02:23Augustine remains cautiously optimistic after a three-hour meeting with Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissessa.
02:30I'm cautiously hopeful because I know that politics tend to be very fluid and things can change,
02:37but I have every reason to be hopeful because the first steps will correct the steps.
02:45As a matter of fact, within hours of being sworn in, the Prime Minister had a meeting with me,
02:54and I am very happy that we were able to have that conversation for at least about three hours.
03:01Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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