Mark: Don't validate councils' future actions

OPPOSITION Senator Wade Mark, debating a bill to validate councils' acts up to May 18, urged the Government to delete part of the bill which also validates their future actions after May 18.

The Municipal Corporations (Extension of Terms of Office and Validation) Bill, 2023 retroactively validates councillors' actions from last December – when their terms were supposed to have ended – up to May 18. That was the date the Privy Council ruled councillors' terms could not be extended for an extra year, as the Government had sought to do.

Mark said on Wednesday democracy was on trial in Trinidad and Tobago, as he accused Government of trying to deny 1.3 million people the right to vote in local polls until stopped by the Privy Council, for which he thanked God.

He referred to last Monday's debate on the bill in the House of Representatives, where Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar complained to no avail that clause five might validate unforeseen future actions by councillors and should be deleted.

Mark said, "It is extremely regrettable that when the UNC puts forward cogent, reasonable arguments to improve the quality of legislation, to ensure there is no untoward inadvertence, the Government rejects it."

He vowed to offer the Senate an amendment to delete clause five, although it had been rejected by the Government in the House.

"We heard a short time ago from the Attorney General (Reginald Armour, SC) – and Senator Vieira sought to clarify it further – that he's going to amend clause five, and he went on to indicate the section of clause five he is going to amend.

"It is the same amendment that was put by the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives and the Honourable Attorney General found no favour (sic).

"But he tells us a short while ago that he has found favour, and he is now going to amend by deleting clause five."

Mark argued, "The PNM sought to deceive the population on this matter of local government reform by extending the period from three years to four years without informing the members of the Houses of Parliament.

"But later on, the Local Government Minister (Faris Al-Rawi) would hold a press conference in November of last year to tell TT that the Cabinet has taken a decision to extend the life of local government by one year."

He complained that the mover of 2019 local government legislation (House Leader Camille Robinson-Regis) – which changed councillors' terms from three to four years – had not told Parliament of any intent to postpone the then pending local government elections.

"They hoodwinked us!" Mark stormed.

He said the Privy Council ruling had been a victory for the people of TT, whose democracy had been saved from a rogue government.

Mark recalled Persad-Bissessar's warning the House on June 26, 2019 that the legislation then under debate could inadvertently extend the lives of sitting councillors.

"So said, so done."

Mark said the Government had answered Persad-Bissessar with shouts of: "Poppycock!"

He quoted Persad-Bissessar, "There is a poor track record of holding local government elections in this country."

Mark contrasted Al-Rawi's news briefing on extending councillors' terms to the subsequent Privy Council judgment.

"The entire Cabinet was found guilty by the Privy Council of taking away the rights of the people of TT."

Mark said he was a democrat and anyone seeking to undermine democracy would have to go through him and the UNC.

"Very shortly the masses of people will deliver a guilty verdict on this administration when they go to the polls."

Accusing the Government of having tried to hijack and kidnap democracy, Mark called for international observers for the upcoming local government elections.