Morris: Include Tobagonians in autonomy discussion

Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Minority Leader Kelvon Morris is warning that if a May 22 motion listed for debate at the legislature is passed, Tobagonians will lose control of Tobago’s future.

The motion tabled by Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, calls on the government, through the Attorney General and the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, to work with the THA to expand its legislative and regulatory authority over key areas in the Fifth Schedule, and to draft the necessary legal amendments in collaboration with the THA’s legal team.

It also wants government to review all previous versions of the Tobago autonomy bills with input from the THA, identify areas of consensus and refinement, and reintroduce the bills in Parliament at the shortest possible period.

When passed, the Chief Secretary is to transmit this motion and a supporting policy paper to the Prime Minister at the earliest opportunity following its passage.

But Morris during a press conference at his Scarborough office on May 21 begged to differ.

“This isn’t autonomy that the Chief Secretary is about to deliver to the people of Tobago, but it is really about a hijack of Tobago’s voice, the people’s voice. And it is an absolute betrayal of everything Mr Farley Chavez Augustine once claimed to believe in.”

He delved into the motion, which he said might be well-meaning and sounding decent.

“The motion now before the assembly gives the cabinet in Port of Spain the power to draft changes to the THA Act with absolutely no requirement to consult with you the people of Tobago. No public meetings and no obligation to return to Tobagonians for its approval.”

He said Augustine was the same man who once blasted the autonomy bills for lacking consultation, even accusing others of being dictatorial writing to the then prime minister and opposition leader asking them to reject the bills.

“This same Farley Chavez Augustine is now pushing a process that is even worse. He is doing exactly what he condemned.”

In December 2024, Augustine said a committee would be set up to consult with Tobagonians. He said as far as he could recall, the committee was appointed.

“I know in the electoral district of Darryl Spring/ Whim, there has been no such consultation. Therefore, on a matter that is so important to the well-being of the average Tobagonians, I am asking you today, fellow Tobagonians, whether you are comfortable with a process that excludes your input, that denies you the right to have a say as to what the autonomy, your right to self-determination should be.”

He added: “This is betrayal, this is betrayal of the trust of every Tobagonian. This fight is not abstract, it affects real issues like where you can get legal titles to the lands you currently live on for generations, whether Tobago will get its fair share of the national budget consistently and constitutionally.

"These are the very powers and decisions that your chief secretary Mr Farley Augustine is putting on the table without even asking you the people of Tobago.”

Morris has penned a letter to Augustine outlining the said concerns, as he is calling on him to withdraw the motion.

He said the people of Tobago should be consulted before a decision like this is made. He is also writing to all the parties that would have participated in the April 28 general election, all political interest groups, the civic groups, the chambers and youth organisations to join him in the call.

“It is not for any cabinet in Port of Spain to say to us here in Tobago what our configuration of the relationship should be. Ultimately this is a conversation that must be had with both Tobagonians and Trinidadians because this is a relationship. Therefore, to exclude the people out of an issue that is so fundamental to the well-being of a people."