Ramsamooj: Farley gets 'strongest hand' to push autonomy

POLITICAL analyst Derek Ramsamooj says the Tobago People's Party's (TPP) resounding 15-0 victory in the January 12 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election has provided its political leader and THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine a strong hand to demand greater autonomy for the island and advance its interests.

Ramsamooj said the THA elections result make for an interesting political dynamic between Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Augustine. He also said the results have diminished the PNM's political stocks nationally and its leadership must do some serious introspection with respect to charting the way forward for the party.

Ramsamooj said the result has placed Augustine "in the strongest position within recent times of having a clear mandate to develop Tobago's agenda."

This agenda, he continued, will not only deal with infrastructure or internal governance.

Ramsamooj said this agenda "will present an unchallenged opportunity to strengthen Tobago's definition of greater autonomy."

He added the TPP victory gives Augustine "great negotiating capacity in dealing with the central government of Trinidad and Tobago."

Ramsamooj said, "Historically, this is the strongest Tobago has ever been in recent history."

The TPP now controls the entire assembly and the Tobago West and Tobago East seats in the House of Representatives.

Asked how the THA elections result could change the political dynamics between Persad-Bissessar and Augustine, Ramsamooj said, "There is going to be great scope for political co-operation between the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led Trinidad administration and the Farley-led THA administration."

He added, "Time will tell whether Chief Secretary Farley (Augustine) will want to negotiate for a greater piece of the national budget, perhaps by a percentage or two, over the next four years."

No official political coalition exists between the UNC and TPP although the latter's two MPs sit alongside UNC backbenchers in a section of the House of Representatives which is traditionally reserved only for government MPs.

On the PNM which lost the lone Darrel Spring/Whim seat in the THA, which it won in the December 2021 election, Ramsamooj said, "The PNM has now devolved into being a minority political party."

He recalled over the last year, the PNM has lost its national political appeal.

"We see a further decline of this national appeal as a political party under the present leadership of the PNM."

Ramsamooj said, "The PNM must revisit its political strategy if it is to have any possibility of being the political alternative and the political leader Pennelope Beckles needs to revisit her leadership style."

He added, "What is clearly evident is the decline of not only the political party but also questions about the effectiveness of the political leadership of Penny Beckles."