RETIRED head of the public service Reginald Dumas has welcomed plans to establish a people-centred political party in Tobago.

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine has said that a name, symbol and colour for the new political party in Tobago should be finalised on April 17.

Augustine and other THA executive members met with supporters on Tuesday at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex to thrash out ideas for the formation of a new political entity but no decision was finalised.

The executive had resigned from the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) on December 5 and declared themselves independents in the THA.

Augustine told reporters on Tuesday he was confident Tobago could build out a political organisation that was truly responsive to the island’s needs and wants.

“This is about what Tobagonians want, ultimately,” Augustine said, adding he felt privileged to be a part of the process.

“We have learnt from the mistakes of the past which is to not go top-down in the approach but to go bottom-up in the approach,” he had said.

On Saturday, Dumas said the “bottom-up approach” to governance was a good one.

“It was, for me, an unusual approach to form the party from the bottom up and not from the top down because so often what happens is that a group of people get together and they want to form a party and they draw up a manifesto, put it out and say, ‘This is what we are doing.’

“Whereas here it seems that the people are being consulted on the name of the party and what it should stand for. So I thought this was a very good move on the part of the independents in that the people of Tobago would be involved in the formation of this new grouping and also the principles on which this new party will stand.”

Saying the approach represents “a welcomed break from political tradition,” Dumas observed this was also the philosophy of the PDP.

“The party’s slogan was ‘Leh We Fix Dis’ and it did not happen. So if it is going to happen now. If they are going to start. All we have to do now is look to see, after the party is formed, if, in fact, these principles will be adhered to and if they are not adhered to well then the people will make their choice.”

Dumas also endorsed Augustine’s view that a sitting administration was facilitating the creation of a new political party.

“I believe this is true because I had never before come across a government or an administration of independents.”

Dumas said since the executive resigned from the PDP he has always maintained that a new political party needed to be established.

“I had long ago said that a party needed to be formed because you can’t have group of independents facing the polls.”

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