Chief Sec's challenge to Government, Opposition – Give Tobago autonomy

CHIEF Secretary Farley Augustine is challenging Government and the Opposition to work together to give Tobago its autonomy.

Addressing a large gathering at the Delaford Community Centre at the OPM's Central Administrative Services Tobago (OPM-CAST) Republic Day Awards ceremony, Augustine said his call was being made as a reflection of the country’s journey to a republic.

TT, he said, is one of the few territories in the Caribbean that considers itself a republic, noting that it must be considered as more than just a constitutional change.

“We must consider it as a choice that we made 49 years ago as a country to chart our own course, to decide for ourselves how we ought to be ruled, to decide to shoulder all of our own burdens and to embrace our destiny with courage and pride.”

To be a republic, he continued, is to say without apology that the authority of our people is the highest law of the land.

“It is to affirm that the symbols of our nation are actually born on our soil, our struggle and our aspirations. It is to claim very proudly that our democracy does not lean on distant thrones but stands upright on the shoulders of our citizens. For Tobago, the republican journey is equally profound.”

He noted that 49 years later, there is still some work to do on the relationship between TT, as well as settle the quest for autonomy and correct a historical injustice.

“When the autonomy question is answered, I believe TT as a republic will be at a place where we can truly say that we have gotten rid of the final legacy of colonialism.”

The country, he said, has been able to reform its judiciary to a large extent save and except for the highest court which remains in the UK's Privy Council.

“We have built out a local government across the country. The final step that we must take as a republic to really throw off all of the burdens of colonialism will be to settle the question of how Tobago and Tobagonians ought to be governed. We look forward to that happening within this 49th year of us being a republic.”

The Republic Day awards took place after a route march also hosted by the OPM-CAST. This march, deemed “historical and highly anticipated,” began at Lammy Road in Argyle and continued through the streets of Roxborough, up to Prince Street and dismissed at the Cyd Gray Sporting Complex.

The award categories included Most Impactful Youth Organisation Award, Most Impactful NGO/CBO/FBO, Entrepreneur of the Year as well as Most Outstanding Sports Personality – Male and Female.