Internal Self-Government Back on the Agenda for Tobago.

The Government, intent on fulfilling its election and manifesto promise of internal self-Government for the people of Tobago, will meet with Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles and other members of the THA at 1.30 pm today (Tuesday 9 January, 2018) at the THA’s Administrative Building in Scarborough.

Leader of Governm
ent Business and Minister of Planning and Development, the Honourable Camille Robinson-Regis and Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, the Honourable Fitzgerald Hinds will lead a team which includes Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Ian Mcintyre (SC), Samraj Harripaul of the Law Reform Commission and an officer from the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs.

The THA’s legal team, led by Gilbert Peterson (SC), will also attend the meeting.

It is expected that the work coming out of this meeting will be instrumental in advancing a draft Bill for Tobago’s Internal Self-Government to the Parliament.

Source:Office of the Prime Minister

Joint Team to Look at Constitutional Legislative Reform for Internal Self Government for Tobago

The Prime Minister has announced the establishment of a joint team to look at constitutional legislative reform in relation to internal self-government for Tobago.

Leader of Government Business in the Senate Ganga Singh, Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism Lincoln Douglas, Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj and Minister of Tobago Development Dr Delmon Baker will form part of the team to work with the THA.

Media Release:

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar today announced the establishment of a joint team, at the request of the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, to further examine the issue of constitutional legislative reform with regard to internal self-Government for Tobago.

The Prime Minister today wrote to THA Chief Secretary, Mr. Orville London, reaffirming her Governments commitment to internal self-Government for Tobago, and expressing her agreement to the establishment of a joint team to look at this important issue.

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar has mandated Senator the Honourable Ganga Singh, Minister of Environment and Water Resources, the Honourable Lincoln Douglas, Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism, Senator the Honourable Devant Maharaj, Minister of Food Production, and the Honourable Dr. Delmon Baker, Minister of Tobago Development to work with the THA in this regard.

The Prime Minister also informed Mr. London that he can expect a carefully deliberated response from the Attorney General regarding the issue of reported incursions into areas devolved to the THA under the Fifth Schedule by the Central Government.

Ashworth Jack Delays Joint Internal Self Government Talks

HE leader of the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) is delaying the continuation of talks on internal self-government.

Ashworth Jack asked for the original meeting to be postponed until this Thursday, but cancelled the meeting, citing personal reasons. This places the parties past their one month deadline for talks to continue.

Jack was expected to indicate by the end of the week, his availability for a new date. The Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) Chief Secretary, Orville London, the leader of the Platform of Truth, Hochoy Charles and the Chairman of the People’s National Movement, Neil Wilson, who has been appointed to lead that party in the talks, all say they will make themselves available for any date that was chosen.

The first meeting between leaders on internal self-government, which will see a review of the THA Act, took place early in January.

Speaking about the issue of internal self-government, London says, “What you want is a situation where the will of the people is recognised and therefore all political entities and decision-makers know that this is what the majority of Tobagonians want.”

He indicated that such an approach might lead to “a system where we will be able to know that this is what the rest of the country wants for Tobago, and in those circumstances one understands the implications of not going along with the wishes of the people.”

He was also asked for his definition of ‘internal self-government’, a term that has been used in relation to the talks. The Chief Secretary responded that, “We sometimes get bogged down with labels, and once we get bogged down with labels, there is a lot of discussion as to what people think the labels mean rather than what the people want. So the process in which we are engaged is one in which we determine the demands of the people and those demands will in fact inform the legislation and you can label it after.”

London continued, “That is why I am in agreement that we should not label it federalism or we should not give it a label. Let us agree on the demands first and then at the end of that exercise, then determine into what category it falls, if it falls into any natural category.”

As for what happens after the political leaders make a decision and approach the Central Government and Parliament for support, and who will be responsible for laying the motion in Parliament, London says, “The ideal situation should be one where there is almost consensus before and it does not matter who takes it to Parliament. We obviously would have a better chance of success if it is taken to Parliament by the government. There is no reason why, for instance, it cannot be tabled in Parliament by a representative of the people of Tobago. Because if one remembers the 1976 bill was tabled by Mr Robinson who was at that point in time was a member of the opposition and very much in the minority.”

He added that, “So, in an ideal world what you would prefer to have is something that is taken to the Parliament by the Central Government in an environment where it is known even beforehand that it would be approved, and that to me is the ideal situation.

Source:Tobagodaily

‘Reconciliation Commission’ Proposed by London

TOBAGO House of Assembly Chief Secretary Orville London has written to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to propose the establishment of a “Reconciliation Commission” to set the sister isle on the road to self-governance.

The proposed commission would be mandated to draft legislation to that effect, the THA stated in a media release last Friday.

In his letter to the PM, London said the commission should comprise equal representation of the Cabinet and THA Executive Council, with the chairperson being agreed upon by both parties, as guided by the “design, spirit and intent of the Dispute Resolution provisions in section 57(1) of the THA Act No. 40”.

London’s proposal was on the invitation of the Prime Minister during their last quarterly meeting on June 21, the THA stated.

The details of the proposal submitted to Persad-Bissessar will be discussed at their next meeting in September. 

In his letter, London said the proposal recognised the need for the Prime Minister and the Chief Secretary to “hold regular discussions with a view to formulating administrative and legislative mechanisms for the promotion of harmony in the affairs of Trinidad and Tobago”, as prescribed by section 31 of the Act.

The THA Chief Secretary explained that this was further supported by section 56 of the Act which established a dispute resolution commission (DRC) to “resolve disputes between the Assembly and Government on budgetary allocations to the Assembly and matters in connection therewith.”

London added that the allocation of resources to Tobago was one of the most critical issues facing constitutional reform.

“It must also be noted, Madam Prime Minister, that the mechanism of the dispute resolution commission has been utilised with procedural success, and should be considered an appropriate model for treating with this larger issue.” 

The Chief Secretary also stated that in the application of the DRC model, the Government and the Assembly would each appoint a team of three to five persons, and a chairperson to be appointed by mutual agreement.

He said the proposed Commission would be required to submit a report detailing its “consensual” position to both the Government and the Assembly for action by their principals. 

London added that this report could become the catalyst for further discussion in Cabinet, the THA and in the public domain, before debate and final resolution in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.

For the past six years, the people of Tobago have been engaged in discussion, consultation and reporting on the issue of Tobago’s position in the union and the outcome of these engagements has been forwarded officially to the Central Government, London stated.

He said the exposition of the relative positions of the Cabinet and the Executive Council had not produced, nor was likely to produce, a viable resolution.

“The people of Tobago now need adequate assurance that their concerns and positions will be addressed. They remain convinced that the issue of internal self-government for Tobago should not be delayed any further by being subsumed in a national consultation reform process whose outcomes are uncertain,” London said in his letter.

Source:trinidadexpress

THA to bring new Proposals for Internal Self-governance

The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) will present Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with its proposal on internal self-governance for consideration next week. The announcement was made on Friday at a news conference in one of the committee rooms in Parliament. Both Persad-Bissessar and THA chief secretary Orville London have agreed that there was a commitment on the issue.

 In early April, London called on the Government to resume talks on internal self-governance for the sister isle saying that the Government was silent on the issue especially after the THA elections. On Friday, Persad-Bissessar said: “My government and the THA chief secretary are committed to internal self-governance for Tobago, but the issue still remains what is the process. The chief secretary has brought a document which we have agreed that we would consider,” she said.

London admitted there were too many public statements made on the issue and the time had come to correct it. “My concern is that this must not reach the Parliament in an adversarial environment, where somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. What you want is, by the time it gets to the Parliament, all the parties are committed to a situation, whereby this document is one, where we can sit down and discuss but we are ensuring that the end of the exercise the objective is achieved. We’ve come too far,” London said.

“The problem of course was about the ‘how’ and for that reason I would have brought to the table a document which is, to a certain extent, related to the Dispute Resolution Commission approach which is in the Tobago House of Assembly Act. The Prime Minister has agreed we will flesh out that document and it will be presented to her early next week.” London said though the dispute resolution approach is mainly for financial matters.

Source:guardiannews