Deputy Chief Sec: No THA support for current autonomy bills

The THA Executive Council cannot fully support the Tobago autonomy bills, according to THA Deputy Chief Secretary and Secretary of Health, Wellness and Social Protection Dr Faith BYisrael.

She was responding to a motion presented by Minority Leader Kelvon Morris at the Assembly Legislature, Scarborough, on October 24. Morris said the bills – the Tobago Self-Government Bill 2020 and the Tobago Island Administration Bill 2021 – would give Tobago more control over its affairs.

“First, let’s look at the Constitution Amendment (Tobago self-government) Bill. This bill aims to grant Tobago self-government by creating the Tobago island government, so no longer it would have the Tobago House of Assembly (in its current form). It establishes two key bodies: the House of Assembly, which will make laws; and the Tobago Executive Council, which will handle the island’s executive administration and management.

"This bill consists of 21 clauses and because it proposes fundamental changes to our Constitution, it requires a special majority to pass. This means it needs the approval of of at least three-quarter of the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate."

He said the constitutional amendment bill is important because it will ensure equality of status.

But BYisrael had a different view. She said the bills exclude important details that Tobagonians have already declared as non-negotiable. She also expressed uncertainty about the timing of Parliament’s focus on the Tobago self-government bill, suggesting it follows a pattern of past administrations using the issue as a gimmick to sway votes around election time.

The autonomy bills have been stalled in Parliament since 2021. During the debate, the UNC walked out of the House of Representatives following the Speaker's decision to grant the Prime Minister extra speaking time. The debate reached the committee stage.

BYisrael said the bills ignore key issues which people want addressed, referring to the 11 non-negotiable items agreed upon at a forum in 2014. These she listed as:

(a) Equality of status between the two islands and a legislative framework reflecting such equality;

(b) A federal type system of governance;

(c) Definition and delineation of the boundaries of each island in accordance with the Constitution;

(d) The responsibility of the Tobago administration to formulate and implement policy on all matters affecting the lives of people resident in Tobago.

The bills would guarantee the THA 6.8 per cent of the national budget – an increase from the current minimum of 4.03 per cent. Additionally, it proposes the creation of a fiscal review committee to grant higher allocations if necessary. However, according to Dr BYisrael, that committee’s composition would not be favourable to the THA.

“The (finance) minister is already the chair. Sure, the vice chair would be the (finance) secretary, one other person from the THA and two people from the Cabinet. So we would have already had a fiscal review committee; they could have already voted to say zero, zilch, nothing more for allyuh because that is what the fiscal review committee came up with.”

She said Tobagonians must not be enticed by the promise of a little more.

A better option, she said, would be to allow Tobagonians the freedom to decide how self-governance should function.

“It may actually work better for us to have a broad thing that says, 'Tobago, you have the authority to create your own governance,' and then allow the people of Tobago to come back and say whether it wants: the people's house, whether it wants a senate, whether it wants a whatever, those things are bicameral system.”

She further proposed amendments to the motion suggesting that instead of fully supporting the bill, provisions should be made to allow for the necessary adjustments.