Cudjoe promises Tobago internal self-government a priority

Tobago West MP-elect Shamfa Cudjoe is promising that Tobago’s internal self-government will remain a priority in the new Parliament.

The first demands for internal self-government for Tobago were led by ANR Robinson in 1977, culminating in the Tobago House of Assembly Act in 1980.

A revised self-government bill, the 2018 bill, was approved by Cabinet and was being reviewed by a joint select committee. According to the Parliament website, the bill lapsed on July 3, as once a parliamentary term ends, a bill lapses automatically.

Speaking with the media on Monday evening after it was announced that the PNM will retain the Tobago East seat, Cudjoe said the JSC did “tremendous” work on the bill, bringing in people from abroad to speak and explain certain items, held a number of meetings and engaged various stakeholders from throughout TT, regionally and internationally.

“We would have taken this legislation to the joint select committee and we would have conducted significant research. So the work is not lost, the work would be carried into this new session of Parliament and it would remain an area of priority. It’s not just the business of the government, we also have to persuade the opposition and the independents, so we get the necessary votes so that it is passed.

“So we continue to have this matter as one of priority and we would pursue it as Tobagonians, as PNMites, as the government until it is achieved,” she said.

Cudjoe was first elected an MP on September 7, 2015. She served as Minister of Tourism from September 2015-April 2018 and Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs from April 9, 2018.

Before that she was an opposition senator from 2010-2015.

Unofficial results indicate that Cudjoe won her seat on Monday
with
8,714 votes.