Watson Duke threatens legal action over THA chief secretary swearing-in

Minority Leader in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Watson Duke is threatening legal action over Wednesday’s election and swearing-in of a new chief secretary.

That process has been scheduled to take place at 3 pm.

In a letter to presiding officer Vanessa Cutting-Thomas, Duke, who is the leader of the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) said he received Tuesday’s notice of the special meeting. He said he found himself in a quandary since the standing orders of the THA did not give the presiding officer the authority to elect a new chief secretary “under the circumstances that currently prevail in the THA.”

He asked for Cutting-Thomas to provide the legal advice she received giving her the confidence to facilitate the election before an appointment is made “so the people of Tobago can participate through their assemblymen in the debate.”

Duke also asked for her to  solicit the agreement of both the Leader of Assembly Business and the Minority Leader on the elections.

“While the Standing Orders allow you to interpret where it is silent, please indicate where that allows you to individually act on that interpretation without consultation,” he said.

Duke gave the presiding officer until 1 pm today to respond to his concerns, saying her failure to do so would leave him with no option but to take legal action to stop the sitting or remove any chief secretary appointed at the sitting.

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