IDA calls for regular meetings between PM, Chief Secretary

THE Innovative Democratic Alliance (IDA) has taken offence with the Prime Minister’s recent tour of the new main terminal building construction site for the ANR Robinson International Airport in Crown Point without the involvement of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).

The IDA’s public relations officer, Kaye Trotman, raised the issue during an IDA press conference on July 10 at its headquarters in Scarborough.

On July 9, Prime Minister Rowley, in a Facebook a post, said he visited the new main terminal building construction site to receive an update on the project’s progress.

It said accompanying the prime minister was president of the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) Esther Farmer and chairman of NIDCO Stephen Gardiner.

Trotman said: “At a time when there is a need to reimagine our tourism product and engage our people in this critical task. We have a head of State with no appreciation for a new vision for tourism, promoting potential opportunities without our involvement. I dare say, it is this kind of ill-advised manoeuvring that has perpetuated the strained relationship between THA and Central Government.”

As a result, on behalf of the party, she is calling for regular meetings between the two office holders – Prime Minister Rowley and THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine. She said regular meetings between the Prime Minister and the Chief Secretary as mandated by the Tobago House of Assembly Act is so important.

“It allows for the appropriate planning and communication on matters before they are executed. Diversification and development of the TT economy demands that where such efforts must occur in the Tobago space, Tobago and its representatives must be duly and respectfully engaged and not dictated to. This again highlights the need for urgent and comprehensive constitutional reform that reorganises governance framework for the nation of TT, the island of Tobago and the island of Trinidad, giving greater community rights and ensuring that the authority of those rights are enshrined in the constitution.”