AG challenges UNC on Tobago bill claims

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi rejected claims from the Opposition UNC that the Tobago Island Government Bill, 2021 took them completely by surprise.

Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee first made this claim during debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, on a motion to adopt the Report of the Joint Select Committee on the Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill 2020.

Speaking as sole contributor to debate on the Tobago Island Government Bill, 2021 in the House on Wednesday, Al-Rawi said, "The bill before us is a critical piece of law and, for the record, this bill, unlike fulminations coming from the Opposition as recently as yesterday... I'm not going into that..but now in the public domain and I read it in the newspapers...there was this argument presented that somehow..this bill before us dropped out of the sky... came like manna from Heaven...and that everyone was caught unawares."

He added, "That is the furthest thing from the truth."

Al-Rawi said the 61 clauses and the two schedules in the bill "spring exactly from the 2016 legislative proposal from Tobago...the 2018 proposal from Tobago...both of which went to JSCs...two JSCs."

He said the bill "brings to life an ambition, a desire, a burning flame of want of this government and the Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis...Mr (Orville) London, the previous chief secretary...Mr Charles the previous chief secretary...many other chief secretaries that have acted...that burning desire to give Tobago it's fair share."

He said both Tobago bills allow Tobagonians to deal with the longstanding, burning issue of managing land titles on the island.

Referring to the murder of Jamal Sebro in Mason Hall, Tobago on June 27, he said: "Yesterday we saw the pale reflection of death on the front page of our newspapers. A young man killed in a boundary dispute with a relative as it is alleged."

Al-Rawi said the bill puts the chief secretary, legal secretary and finance secretary on the same footing as their counterparts in central government.

He reiterated that both bills give Tobago greater say over many issues it never had before.

"Who would want to deny Tobago this?" After noting the UNC's boycott of the sitting, Al-Rawi said, "The people of Tobago deserve support and we are here prepared to give it to them."

In opening debate on the bill earlier in the sitting, Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis said, "This bill, if I go through the provisions, provides the clear and unambiguous jurisdictional boundaries of the Tobago island government, by prescribing that Tobago's administrative responsibility for marine waters would extend to a distance of 11 nautical miles from the low water mark of the island of Tobago.

She said the bill allows the Tobago island government "to employ persons on contract as the government sees fit."

Robinson-Regis said the bill also provides for Tobago to receive a minimum of 6.8 per cent of the national budget. She said this was a major improvement "from the 4.3 per cent which now exists."