UNC: Chief Secretary Dennis can't speak for Tobago

THE United National Congress (UNC) has said THA Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis does not possess the mandate to speak on behalf of Tobago. He added that Dennis was “out of place” for describing the actions of the party’s leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, as “ridiculous and disrespectful.”

Dennis had made the statement at the post executive council media briefing in Scarborough, last Thursday, a day after Persad-Bissessar tore what she claimed was a “gutted” version of the Tobago Self-Government Bill.

The bill is one of two pieces of legislation aimed at giving Tobago greater autonomy. The other is the Tobago Island Administration Bill.

Debate on the Joint Select Committee’s report on the bills took place in the House of Representatives on June 28 and 29.

It reached the committee stage but no vote was taken.

This was because UNC MPs, led by Persad-Bissessar walked out of the Parliament chamber in protest against Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George’s decision to allow the Prime Minister an extra 60 minutes to wind up the debate on the bills.

During the debate, UNC MPs said the bills do not reflect the views of Tobagonians and called for more consultation.

In a release on Saturday, the party’s PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo said Dennis was in no position to describe Persad-Bissessar as “ridiculous and disrespectful.”

He said Dennis, who leads a holdover THA executive, owing to the six-six result in the January 25 THA election, was disqualified from speaking on behalf of Tobago.

“Ancil Dennis must keep his ridiculous and disrespectful mouth closed with regard to the fully legitimate positions and actions taken by the official Opposition of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,” Meighoo said in the release.

He added: “Ancil Dennis is completely ridiculous and disrespectful to the people of Tobago when he purports to speak for the entire island of Tobago, after his party lost their majority in the last THA elections.”

Meighoo accused Dennis of holding on to the title of Chief Secretary, in order to “continue spending out the people's money,” while he has no popular electoral mandate to do so, or a properly functioning THA to provide oversight.

“If he wants a political future, the political novice Ancil Dennis must stop issuing any further ridiculous and disrespectful statements, and learn to respect the political will of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, rather than follow the instructions of his PNM political masters in Trinidad.”

Meighoo also accused Dennis of dismissing, without justification, the findings of an Auditor General’s for the period October 2019 to September 2020, which identified irregularities in the THA’s handling of covid19 relief initiatives.

Responding to the UNC’s release, Dennis told Newsday: “It is good that on this occasion the subject of the UNC press release isn’t longer than the body.”

Asked to comment further, he added: “This does not meet the requirement for any further attention.”