Tobagonians express mixed opinions on autonomy bill

SOME Tobagonians believe even though now is the time to give Tobago more autonomy, the island is not ready for the responsibility.

Vernette Muir Job from Belle Garden said she believed Tobago could not stand on its own at the moment, as it had no industry other than tourism.

“I find they shouldn’t start to fight up for that (autonomy) yet. They need to get some factories and other things and then we could fight for that. Tobago don’t have nothing.”

Giselle Hovel-Goodridge from Bethel agreed Tobago could not stand on its own.

She said even if the bills on Tobago’s autonomy were to be passed, Tobago still had to go to Trinidad for goods and services.

“It ain’t make no sense.”

A man from Glamorgan said it was time for more autonomy for Tobago, but the people of the island had to be careful about how they went about it.

“We need to have our brilliant minds on it, and we need to have a proactive approach. We need to have an open mind and respect each other’s views. We need to find a consensus, because everybody wants autonomy for a common ground.”

He said the THA did not collect money from some of the Trinidad-based businesses in Tobago, and all the taxes collected on the island went to Trinidad. He said Tobago needed to be given a budget so that it could stand on its own and start to raise revenue.

“I am for tax, but it’s about how you use the money. The money is supposed to come back in the community to help improve and change lives in the community. But we not seeing that.

“At the end of the day Tobago has been underdeveloped for many years and politics has taken a central role in that. If we stop politicking, Tobago could develop.”

He believed the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) needed to partner with the government to move Tobago forward, as it needed a port for cargo to help reduce the price of goods, focus on agriculture so Tobagonians could feed themselves, more medical staff, factories and more.

PNM political activist Goslyn Loreine, from Mason Hall, said, “All Tobagonians should buy in to the bills in the present construct, because things do not happen suddenly. It’s a movement from one step to the next, and what is before the House right now is very superior to what we have at this point in time.”

But he told Newsday about 75 per cent of Tobagonians did not know what the bills on Tobago autonomy entailed, even though the traditional media in Tobago were going through them in detail and doing their best to educate people.

Highlighting Loreine’s statement, a man from Glamorgan said he did not know much about the bills, but believed more money for Tobago and the island being able to make its own laws would be a good thing.

False bills

Anthony James, political leader of the Tobago Liberation Movement, said he was not satisfied with the bills because they were based on the wrong ideology.

He said making Trinidad and Tobago one colony and then making Tobago a ward of the colony was a colonial agreement. So when the colony was given independence, both islands should have been made independent separately.

He said it stripped the rights of the people of Tobago and, when the Constitution was made, it should have respected the property of Tobago and guaranteed the rights of its people.

He said with Trinidad having 39 seats in Parliament and Tobago only two, the outcome of elections in Trinidad determined the lives of Tobagonians.

“Autonomy was falsely prosecuted by those in Tobago who sent those bills down to Trinidad. What was sent in the bill, that is now agreed upon by the joint select committee, has been downscaled. They are now saying you can now make laws for the 33, 34 items in the fifth schedule and send it down to a President that is selected by Trinidad.

"The reason why Tobago wants to make laws is because Tobago needs to make his own laws.

"So you can't have restriction of items, which means that the people of Tobago are not sovereign in their own life story and in the property which rightfully belongs to them – the land, the sea and the air – which, according to international law, belongs to Tobago.”

According to James, they were not autonomy bills when they subjected and restricted Tobago.

He said there were those in Tobago asking for an international definition of Tobagonian territory extending for 200 nautical miles, which was a condition of independence, but wanted to remain under the “Trinidad” Constitution and was asking for a percentage of the national budget. He said it was a contradiction.

“The question now is, how do we construct freedom in Tobago into constitutional arrangements? That's the question and that's where they are falling down.

“What is proposed and the outcome of what is proposed, if Tobago stays there, it would not realise Tobago’s potential. It would not eradicate the frustration in Tobago. It will not bring dignity to the people of Tobago.”

He said, like everyone else, Tobago wanted to be free. But the leadership did not or could not represent that.

He said while he would not oppose or delay the bills, he believed Tobago should be an “international entity” and suggested a model similar to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) for shared sovereignty.

He said members of the OECS had their own sovereign governments but shared the same currency and had freedom of movement and freedom of trade. He believed that was the future of TT.