PROGRESSIVE Democratic Patriots (PDP) political leader Watson Duke has blamed THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine for the failure of the Tobago autonomy bill in the Parliament.
During debate on the pieces of legislation on December 9, the House of Representatives passed the Tobago Island Government Bill 2021 by a vote of 20-10, but failed to pass the Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill 2020.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill did not get the special three-fourths majority for passage, as 21 government members voted for the bill and 16 opposition members voted against. The bill required at least 31 of the 41 members to vote in favour.
At a news conference after the sitting, Augustine claimed there was absolutely "no will nor intent" by the government to pass the Constitution (Amendment) Bill.
He revealed he had sent the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader a list of proposed amendments to the bills minutes before the sitting. Augustine claimed his legal team had worked throughout the weekend preparing the document containing the amendments.
But in a WhatsApp voice note on December 10, Duke alleged the bills failed because Augustine tried to negotiate with the UNC.
“The bills failed because our Chief Secretary does not know how to negotiate and, therefore, he attempted to negotiate with his friends in Trinidad, the UNC or agents of the UNC, and he did so without the knowledge of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA),” he alleged.
“For instance, the THA is still waiting on the document he said he would have sent to the members of the Opposition and Parliament regarding what Tobago wants.
“He is showboating himself and telling people he would have sent something, and he didn’t send anything whatsoever. And so what we heard he sent was a text message to the Prime Minister saying he does not support the bill in its current form on the day of the sitting, which was yesterday (December 9).”
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