Chief Sec slams ex-PM on hotel: We want Sandals on our terms

Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Farley Augustine says Tobago wants a Sandals-branded hotel on the island but on its own terms.

He slammed former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley for saying Tobagonians were opposed to the construction of the hotel six years ago.

Augustine was speaking at the Tobago People's Party special convention at Rovanel's Resort, Store Bay Local Road, Bon Accord, on March 23.

He said Tobago never had a problem with Sandals or any other hotel development as Rowley had claimed.

"It is unfair to posit in the public space as though Tobagonians rejected Sandals.

"That is untrue. Tobagonians rejected the Sandals project because it was undemocratic and did not make proper economic sense, that MoU that was signed by the current MP for Tobago West (Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis) and it did not meet the environmental best practices or standards that we wanted."

On March 15, at a ceremony to mark the practical completion of the new ANR Robinson International Airport terminal, Rowley said he had held talks with executive chairman of Sandals Adam Stewart about the possibility of returning to Tobago to construct a hotel.

Rowley said Stewart agreed to come to Tobago soon to discuss the idea with Prime Minister Stuart Young. Rowley also pleaded with Augustine and Progressive Democratic Patriots leader Watson Duke to be a part of the discussions.

But Augustine said the THA ought to lead those discussions.

"For you to sit in Port of Spain and decide for us this is what you want, I am saying to you there is a Tobago House of Assembly and in the Fifth Schedule is tourism. And if it is a matter relative to tourism, it starts and ends with the Tobago House of Assembly, not your one percent prime minister."

Earlier, Augustine began his address by declaring that the party was ready for the political war in the run up to the April 28 general election.

"I am here because the struggle for a much more autonomous Tobago continues."

He said the TPP's two candidates David Thomas (Tobago East) and Joel Sampson (Tobago West) will be charged with leading the fight for greater autonomy for Tobagonians in the Parliament if elected MPs.

Augustine said the upcoming election was critical.

"It may be Tobago's last opportunity to be in a strong negotiating position on Tobago's autonomy."

He added, "'Our responsibility is to negotiate for a better autonomy bill than what we saw in 2013 and last year."

He listed the issues which the TPP's two candidates will be responsible for in the Parliament, including national security.

"We are fighting tooth and nail to ensure that Tobago doesn't get like Trinidad."

He lamented that Tobago's Coast Guard still does not have enough vessels to safeguard the island's porous borders.

"What happens in Cabinet meetings? Do they just eat roti, eat doubles, drink solo and have a good time?"

Augustine said the TPP candidates will also have to address the issues plaguing the airbridge, the Registrar General's office, the forex crisis and the backlash from the displacement of Canaan Bon Accord residents to facilitate the expansion of the airport.

He claimed the residents who were relocated to sites at Cove and Shirvan were inadequately compensated and struggling to complete their homes

TPP candidates: We will fight for Tobago

Earlier in the meeting, the party announced Secretary of Community Development, Youth Development and Sport Joel Sampson as the candidate for Tobago West.

Sampson, the party's deputy chairman and assemblyman for Bon Accord/Crown Point, began his address by requesting that Buju Banton's Destiny be played.

He told supporters he did not get to this point in his life by luck or privilege.

"I grew up with grit, determination, and understanding that to achieve anything worthwhile, you have to put your heart into it.

"I have never backed down from a challenge and I have never walked away from a fight when justice was on the line.

"That is who I am and that is why I am standing here tonight because Tobago West deserves leadership that grounded, committed and courageous."

He recalled playing football for Bethel FC and the life lessons he learned.

"I didn't just play to win, I played to represent, to put my community on the map, to show that we had heart and spirit that no one could crush.

"Those moments told me that team work and perseverance are the foundation of success."

Sampson said he had seen firsthand how many of Tobago's challenges – including national security, budget allocations – are beyond the Assembly's's reach.

"Its about amplifying Tobago's voice where it truly matters.

"I know as MP I can build on the work that I started here in Tobago by advocating for Tobago's fair share of the national budget, pushing beyond that bare minimum of 4.3 per cent and fighting for the 6.9 per cent we deserve."

He vowed to advocate for Tobago's needs.

Quoting Buju Banton's Destiny, he said if elected, he will ensure that Tobago gets its fair share.

"For decades, those in power have sat comfortably in the city, making decisions about our lives without ever feeling our struggles, they act as if Tobago is just a footnote, an afterthought, but I am here to say: no more.

"I will not sit quietly while Tobago is treated like a distant relative, begging for crumbs, no, Tobago deserves its fair share."

The party's Tobago East candidate, David Thomas Jnr, recalled his childhood in Scarborough and the struggles his family faced. Thomas, a retired assistant fire chief, recalled his years coming up in the ranks of the fire service.

He said in his formative years, his parents sent him to Trinidad to sell pigeon peas on a vessel called the Scarlet Ibis, which came into operation on the seabridge in the 1960's.

"(My parents) would send me down to Trinidad with a little piece of cardboard in my hand saying Tobago peas and a bag with peas in my next hand.

"When I got to the Port of Spain market, I had to make all my little heaps...but that was teaching me entrepreneurship from very early."

Thomas said he understands the need for autonomy and will advocate for it if he is elected on April 28.

"So that when I represent Tobago in the Parliament – I am not saying if, I am saying when I represent Tobago in the Parliament – Tobago will know that you have a champion on board.

He vowed to take guidance from the TPP executive and thanked those who encouraged him to offer himself as a candidate.

"I am ready, Tobagonians, just know you are not likely to have your efforts, your support and your words fall on stony ground."

Tobago People's Party executive

The TPP executive was also announced at the special convention.

Political Leader - Farley Augustine

Chairman - Ann Second

Deputy chairman - Joel Sampson

Deputy political leader - Dr Faith Brebnor

Deputy political leader - Nathisha Charles-Pantin

Deputy political leader - Trevor James

Party treasurer - Orlando Kerr

Assistant party treasurer - Marlon Radgman

General secretary - Pearl Alman-George

Assistant general secretary - Jacqueline Adams

Public Relations and Communications officer - Tynielle Jack

Elections officer - Otis Noel

Membership & Mobilisation officer - Ackel Franklyn

Education, Research and Training officer - Sean McCoon

- With reporting by Corey Connelly