00:00A High Court ruling has clarified that special purpose companies created by the Tobago House of Assembly to carry out
00:07public functions are subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
00:10In a decision delivered on Friday, 21 May 2026, Justice Robertson ruled that the Eco-Industrial Development Company of Tobago
00:20E.D. Cot is a public authority within the meaning of the FOIA, despite being incorporated as a limited liability
00:29company.
00:30The Court found that E.D. Cot, which is owned, controlled and funded by the THA, falls within the scope
00:37of the FOIA and is therefore subject to the transparency and accountability obligations imposed by the Act.
00:45The matter arose from requests for information concerning the management and operation of the Mantle Lodge Hotel and Dive Centre,
00:54including matters related to procurement evaluations, contractual arrangements and a franchise agreement involving Choice Hotels International, Inc., and was brought
01:06by Tobagonian Stefan Isaac.
01:08Sham Fakajil Lewis said, when an entity is established by the Tobago House of Assembly, funded by taxpayers and entrusted
01:15with managing multi-million dollar public assets and high ticket procurement, it could never be a private enterprise.
01:24It is property of the people and a steward of the public trust.
01:27E.D. Cot trying to hide behind its status as a limited liability company to avoid scrutiny in an affront
01:36to the taxpayers of Tobago.
01:38She said E.D. Cot was designed to assist with facilities management and drive economic and industrial development.
01:49Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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