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  • 7 months ago
Members of Parliament for Tobago East and West David Thomas and Joel Sampson are to be sworn in at the first sitting of Parliament. This from Chief Secretary Farley Augustine during an interview with TV6'S Elizabeth Williams. More in this report.
Transcript
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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