No notice for THA special sitting on Friday

KINNESHA GEORGE-HARRY

Minority Assemblyman Farley Augustine said there is no special sitting of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Assembly Legislative on Friday.

On Monday, a Trinidad Express report said eight Assembly members petitioned THA Presiding Officer Vanessa Cutting-Thomas to call a special sitting on Friday. The report said that at that sitting, they intend to move a motion of no confidence in Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, who lost the election for head of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Tobago Council.

Responding to questions from members of the media during the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) bi-weekly news conference at the Minority Council office in Scarborough on Tuesday, Augustine said he has received no notice of any special sitting from the Assembly Legislature.

“We can say now that there is no special sitting as of this very moment.

“What should happen if there is a special sitting, the Presiding Officer through the clerk of the House will inform all members in writing. In that regard, we have gone paperless and we are used to getting such notices via e-mail and I checked up to moments before the start of this press conference and there were no notices of a special sitting on Friday,” he said adding that based on the standing orders, notice of sittings should be given four days in advance.

“So, most likely, we should have gotten that notice yesterday (Monday) for Friday. It must be noted that at the end of the day, based on the standing order, the Presiding Officer has the final say in whether or not a special sitting is warranted,” Augustine said.