PM: Autonomy on front burner for Tobago

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar joins newly sworn-in Chief Secretary Farley Augustine as he addresses supporters outside the Assembly Legislature, Scarborough, on January 15. -

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has vowed to work closely with the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) to achieve the long-awaited autonomy for the island.

Persad-Bissessar at​tended the inauguration ceremony of the THA in Scarborough on January 15, and then joined the newly sworn in assemblymen at James Park where a large group pf Tobago People's Party supporters gathered to witness the ceremony on the big screens.

The TPP swept the THA elections 15-0 on January 12, just the second-ever time a party won all seats in the last 45 years.

The PM said: “I want to thank Farley. Once the Parliament reopens tomorrow, because of his direction and his guidance, that bill to give you greater autonomy – we begin there, we begin on Friday to give you greater autonomy.”

She added: “We plan to work very closely with Farley and his team so that we can begin that long awaited process. The last time I was here, I was across there (pointing at the Assembly Legislature) making a little speech and at the end of the speech I said I pray the anchor (the TPP symbol) holds – those were my last words – and the anchor did hold."

Chief Secretary Farley Augustine takes his oath of office alongside President Christine Kangaloo on January 15 at the Assembly Legislature, Scarborough. - Photo courtesy Assembly Legislature

The Tobago Self Government Bill, brought to Parliament by the former PNM government, flopped in December 2024 after it failed to get Opposition support for the special majority that was required. Augustine said that bill did not reflect the wishes of Tobago.

Augustine addressed the proposed amendments to the THA Act following the TPP's landslide victory, which were discussed by Attorney General John Jeremie at a UNC media briefing on January 14. The amendment bill, he said, will increase the number of secretaries and raise the quorum required for conducting Assembly business.

Augustine said, “The last time we had such an amendment was act number 17 of 2006, so, the last time the parliament made provisions to allow us to select more secretaries was all the way back in 2006. We’re now in 2026 with an expanded House with more members and we feel as if it is time to make a change again. That will allow a more granular approach. It means that in instances where we have many divisions holding down portfolios that would ordinarily be two and three and four ministries in Trinidad, we would have a more granular build out that will allow for efficiency in the space.”

The Assembly, he said, has been trying to cram 33 items from the Fifth Schedule into a small number of divisions.

“This gives us some more flexibility that allows for greater efficiency.”

A new division to be introduced, he said, is the Division of Legal Affairs and Inter-governmental Affairs, which will be equivalent to that of the Attorney General.

The quorum of the House, he said, will also be changed. That quorum, he said, was nine when there were 12 elected members. He noted that the elected assemblymen increased to 15 elected members but the quorum never changed.

“A full House really and truly is 15 plus four, which is 19. The law states as it is that nine people can make a decision for 19 – that quorum does not fit. So the quorum now changes to 12, which is a higher standard, which means 12 members must be in the House for any debate to be considered legal.”