PRESIDENT Christine Kangaloo says the time has come for Tobago to get the autonomy it has been clamouring for.
In her inaugural visit to Tobago since assuming the highest office in the land, President Kangaloo encouraged Tobagonians to continue pushing for legislation for self-governance adding that it will only improve the relationship between Trinidad and Tobago.
President Kangaloo made the statements while addressing the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Executive Council on Wednesday.
She said, “I believe the time has come for there to be a new, and it is hoped, a final legislative push to secure autonomy for Tobago. That time is now and history will not absolve us if we, those who sit in this time in our nation’s history, do not do that which is required to secure Tobago autonomy once and for all.”
President Kangaloo said parliamentarians who have the power to support the necessary laws should not hesitate to do so in order to protect Tobago’s identity.
She said, “I believe that at this juncture of our country’s history, our task, the signal importance of which has escaped neither the Chief Secretary nor me, is to fight to keep the question of autonomy on the national agenda, and to strain every muscle in us to struggle for its achievement and attention until it is advanced and achieved.
President Kangaloo gave the assurance that she will lend her own voice to the others calling for better constitutional arrangements for the people of Tobago.
She also said, “It is important to remember what it is that we are struggling for. We are not struggling to break each other down. And we are certainly not struggling to break our union apart. Quite the opposite. What we are struggling for is to make our union better. And in the end, what we must always remember is that what we are struggling for is a better Trinidad and Tobago.”
Her statements were welcomed by THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said, “I was elated to hear who posits such strong support for greater autonomy for Tobago. I was surprised at how much of homework that she did, and research that she did. It was actually quite thrilling.”
