Moore: How will Tobago be impacted?

How will the presence of Venezuelans in Tobago affect life on the island?

Tobago Forwards political leader Christlyn Moore raised this issue on Saturday night during a meeting of the Tobago Liberation and Empowerment Team at Milford Court, Bon Accord.

The team includes Tobago Organisation of the People leader Ashworth Jack and Platform of Truth leader Hochoy Charles.

The Government's two-week amnesty registration drive for Venezuelans living in TT began last Friday at specific centres throughout the country. In Tobago, Venezuelans are being registered at the Caroline Building, Scarborough.

Moore noted Tobago was set to register around 300 Venezuelans.

"That is .5 (per cent) of your population. Are we prepared?" she asked residents of Canaan/Bon Accord.

"What is the policy? What is the strategy? What is the plan? Are we prepared?"

Moore said the amnesty again reflects the need for Tobagonians to speak with one collective voice on issues affecting the island.

"Because somebody needs to tell us how this is going to impact our schools, how this is going to impact our crime rate, how this is going to impact the availability of housing.

"Somebody needs to tell us who we are dealing with with a level of certainty because we can't check. Somebody needs to tell us what these people are trying to say to us, because we don't speak Spanish."

Moore said Tobagonians must decide on the island's future.

"We need to say what happens in Tobago. We need to say what happens to Tobagonians. We need to have a frank discussioin about who controls Tobago and how Tobago is set to change in order to benefit one or two or three agendas."