The PNM-controlled Tobago House of Assembly (THA) has called on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to commit to a serious meeting on autonomy for Tobago by Saturday “or we will go ahead without you.” That’s the ultimatum Chief Secretary Orville London gave last Sunday during the first public meeting on Tobago’s autonomy, hosted by The Forum of Political Parties. Persad-Bissessar is in Costa Rica on a business trip. She is scheduled to return by weekend, her office stated yesterday.
The forum comprises leaders of political parties that contested the January 2013 THA election, the PNM and Tobago Platform of Truth (TPT). The Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) pulled out of the process after its first meeting in January last year.
London said the Prime Minister had committed to speaking with Cabinet on the issue last year and promised to meet Tobago officials but has failed to do so. He said she last promised to respond to him by January 31 which he indicated is now her deadline to come back with a commitment for serious discussions.
He added: “The forum has decided we should give an opportunity to the Prime Minister and the Central Government to be involved in the negotiations. She said she would come back to us by the end of January and that’s why we are giving her until the end of January.
“If at the end of January we don’t get a commitment from her, (we) do not get the kind of positive action that would give us the confidence that she’s prepared to treat with this situation seriously, we are going ahead. We are expediting efforts to ensure we have a bill that takes into consideration all the demands of the people of Tobago and bring it back to you for ratification.”
The Self-Government Secretariat, London said, had contacted with “two high-ranking international experts, whom it was due to meet with a view to assisting Tobago in its quest for autonomy. London said the time had come for “decisive action” by The Forum.
London said the best way to deal with the matter would be to meet with Central Government and arrive at “common ground,” but stressed that he was not prepared to wait forever.
“We are prepared to utilise national and international support to achieve the objective,” he said.