UNC: Not enough consultation on new Tobago bills

COUVA South MP Rudranath Indarsingh accused the Government of not holding enough public consultation on two new bills affecting Tobago being debated by the House of Representatives.

On Monday the House debated a Government motion to adopt the Report of the JSC on the Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill, 2020, while on Tuesday the House is due to debate the Tobago Island Administrative Bill 2021.

Leading the Opposition's response, he said the UNC has always partnered with Tobago, not imposing itself like "the disrespectful PNM."

Indarsingh said it was the UNC which had documented the place in history of former president, the late Arthur NR Robinson, by naming Tobago's airport after him. He said the UNC-led People's Partnership had completed the construction of Scarborough Hospital, not the PNM.

He accused the Government of arrogance and of not consulting enough on the new legislation, alleging a JSC member had asked if the committee should now drop its work and fly to Tobago to consult some more. Indarsingh said Tobago One Voice leader Hochoy Charles had said another month of consultation was needed on the legislation. He vowed the UNC would stand in defence of the people of Tobago.

Indarsingh said the PNM was seeking to hoodwink the population to believe everyone in Tobago supported the bill, but cited prominent Tobagonians whom he said did not.

He said political commentator Dr Winford James said the bill would bring a reversal of several existing autonomy measures. Economist Dr Vanus James said the bill did not give self-determination, Indarsingh said. He said for Tobago House of Assembly (THA) member Deborah Moore-Miggins said the bill was self-contradictory. Indarsingh said THA former chief secretary Orville London had once held extensive consultations on Tobago legislation, in contrast to the case now with what he called "two by four rushed legislation."

Indarsingh urged, "Let all parties meet as one before this bill goes to Parliament. If they really want to advance the cause of the people of Tobago, they must ensure consultations are done in accordance with the will of the people of Tobago." He alleged that at election time the PNM often tried to alienate the people of Tobago from the rest of TT, to try to divide and rule the country.

Saying the Government had held consultations on Tobago during a pandemic which he likened to a war environment, he said, "Do you think it is reflective of the will of the people?"