London wants bigger THA

According to Clause 33 (1) of the Tobago House of Assembly Act, 1996, "the Executive Council shall comprise (a) the Chief Secretary, (b) the Deputy Chief Secretary, (c) such other Secretaries not being more than five, selected from among members of the Assembly as the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief Secretary may appoint."

However, in his presentation, London argued that the provisions of the clause have restricted the size of the Executive Council to seven while the scope, functions and resources of the Tobago House of Assembly have been increasing significantly in recent years and that there was an urgent need to increase its size to ensure that a more effective management of resources and delivery of service to the people of Tobago.

The motion also resolved that a committee comprising representatives of the majority and minority sides of the House be appointed to make recommendations on the process for a review of the other provisions of the THA Act, 1996; that will give effect to the resolution passed in the House on April 28, 2005.

The committee is to report to the House, no later than November 30, 2005.

"We will have our disagreements, but there has to be some areas on which we will agree, and I want to suggest that one of the areas that we can have agreement is in the process. How do we get from here to a better place? Therefore, what we are trying to do is to deal with the process and to have a consensual approach to the process so that at least we will know that all of us can be involved in this process along the way. And in a real sense, we are not just starting today, we are starting over. I want us to try to put aside the acrimony and the politicking for a little while. We are politicians and we must get involved, but for a little while, let us think first of Tobago and how we get from here to there. We have started and stuttered and reversed and quarrelled and argued and we haven’t gotten as far as we should have," London admonished his colleagues.

He referred to an earlier motion moved by Minority Councillor Hochoy Charles for the THA to urge the Central Government to pursue constitutional reform for Tobago urgently, but stated that while they were in agreement with the motion, the question of constitutional reform treated with an area of change over which the assembly did not hold total control.

He said that the reality of the situation was that, with the best intent in the world, the THA did not know when the kind of constitutional reform necessary to bring all the changes it may desire would be achieved.

London said that in the meantime, different strategies on how to provide Tobagonians with the kind of legislation and process that will allow them (THA) to operate more effectively should be looked at.

He suggested that the Act be critically evaluated to determine what currently makes it ineffective; the adoption of legislature that does not require constitutional authority and; to eventually ensure that the Parliament empathises with the THA situation, and is prepared to pass with the requisite majority, the sort of ammendment needed for the revision of the Act.

"We recognise that the people of Tobago deserve better than they are getting right now. Right now, they are getting it good but I think that they deserve better and they could get better if we have a THA Act that is more responsive to the needs of Tobagonians and also that we have an Executive Council that is expanded so that we have more people sharing the burden and therefore being able to perform more effectively.

"We are really dealing with two things — agreement that we should start the discussion among us and come up with a process with which we can all live; that we are accepting that, in the present environment with the range of resources and the kind of responsibility, the Executive Council can be more effective if it is larger. We have been marking time and marching backwards for too long and I am saying, let us take one little step forward today and I believe that we have an excellent opportunity to do it better this time." London said.

The motion was eventually passed, but not without strong arguments from the minority bench. Minority Leader Ashworth Jack warned London that, while well-intentioned, the motion consisted of dangerous loop holes that can adversely affect the purpose.

Jack cautioned that using the motion to lobby for additional secretaries, especially if it was based on the argument of increased financial resources, was sowing the seeds for "someone in Port-of-Spain to tell you that the resources you have are too much for the people that you have, let me cut back on your resources."

"The argument should be; if we are to deliver this kind of service effectively, efficiently and on time, we must be able to handle this thing in such a way that the secretaries are not burdened, he advised.