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THA Deputy Chief Secretary Watson Duke. FILE PHOTO/JEFF MAYERS –

THA Deputy Chief Secretary Watson Duke is calling for self-determination for Tobago.

Duke, the electoral representative for Roxborough/ Argyle, was delivering the feature address during the Caribbean Diaspora Investment Forum’s Invest Tobago town hall meeting at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, on Monday.

He said there is a need for Tobago to be on equal status with Trinidad.

“Tobago is not an equal island with Trinidad. Since 1889, we have never been – and that is a legal issue – we are never equal: we are a ward of Trinidad.”

“The Tobago problem is not Trinidad, because our families exist there. They are our brothers and our sisters. The Tobagonian problem is the PNM.

“We want equal rights and justice. Give us our equal rights and justice with Trinidad.

“Although we are a ward of Trinidad, what that simply means, they take care of us. If we want an ID card, that has to be made in Trinidad. If you want a glasses, that has to be made in Trinidad – anything (imported), it has to come through Trinidad. The flour you eat: it comes through Trinidad. The sugar you eat: it comes through Trinidad.”

He said deep within him, there is a dream for Tobago to be equal.

“I never wanted to be the normal politician, I wanted to be myself I don’t want to be no ANR Robinson, I don’t want to be no Patrick Manning, no Eric Williams, I don’t want to be no Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela – I just wanted to be myself.”

He said in his mind, independence in 1962 and Republic status in 1976 should have elevated Tobago.

“Then again, the PNM was in charge, they don’t care.

“As long as we are one, we can’t plan our budget, we can’t do anything. They have to give us whatever they feel to give us, whenever they feel to give us – that is what they’re going to do.

“But as an island on (an) equal footing, we may just have the right to solicit elsewhere. We may have the right to come up with our own economic plan, our own social development, etc.”

He said as a result Tobago needs self-determination.

“Self-determination is really a cardinal principle rooted in international law. Self-determination really says that the people of Tobago…would sit and could determine for themselves their political status.”

“Whether we want to be fully independent, we have that right– whether we want to be in a relationship: interdependent like Trinidad and Tobago, or whether we want to have an association like the European Union – they are an association; the UN – they are an association. We never had the chance to decide.”

He said all of the diasporas must stand and say to the PNM in Trinidad,“It is time to free our people back home.”

“We are not asking for separation. We are not asking to go alone. We want to be linked to Trinidad, if possible linked to the rest of the Caribbean.

“(But) we must have the right to determine ourselves, our political status. We must have the right to freely develop our economic, our social and cultural development – we must determine that.”

In 2019, Duke said at a press conference it was time to free Tobagonians from “bondage” – not through internal self-governance, but through full independence from Trinidad. He said this separation was not a call for war, but instead for Tobago to have the chance to unlock its ability to grow its economy.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein. –

THE rejected bail bill which Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, is seeking to resurrect is not the answer to controlling spiralling crime, says Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein.

“What we need is a working minister of national security, a working commissioner of police and a competent prime minister.”

Hosein was speaking at Monday night’s United National Congress (UNC) virtual report meeting and was responding to statements by the AG that a new bail bill is being framed, in consultation with criminologists, to ensure its passage when he takes it back to the Parliament.

Independent and UNC senators rejected the bill when it was taken to the Senate in July.

During an interview on TTT over the weekend, Armour admitted insufficient consultations were done, and this time around he wants the process to be more engaging with both the opposition and independent senators.

Hosein rejected the idea.

“While this bail bill was law, 450 of our citizens died. While this bail bill was law, we lost Andrea Bharath. While this bail bill was law, we lost Ashanti Riley. The bail bill simply does not work.”

On the issue of staffing shortage at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Armour also spoke about the hiring of 20 new state prosecutors during his interview.

“I hear the AG boasting we hire 20 prosecutors. Get real, you spent over $400 billion and come to boast you hire 20 prosecutors?

“Where are you going to put them?” Hosein asked, referring to his brief stay at the DPP’s office when he had to share a small cubicle with three prosecutors.

The opposition MP said while staffing is important, space constraints must also be addressed.

He said buildings were being rented to accommodate the Office of the DPP at Park Street, Port of Spain; Gulf City Mall, San Fernando; and Gulf City Mall, Tobago, “and up to now you cannot relocate these offices there.

“I am beyond tired of the PNM’s bag of tricks. I am sick of hearing the PNM party spewing nonsense about how the country is getting better when indeed things are getting worse.

“On the eve of the 60th anniversary of Independence, when this country should have been proud to boast that crime is down, food prices are low, the cost of living is affordable, and of a technology-based government system and national unity, the alternative is the reality.

“Instead, the PNM has given us a runaway crime situation, a population living pay check to pay check and a divided nation.”

Amidst a public outcry for safety, “The issue of national security has fallen on deaf ears as the crime rate continues to raise just like the price of flour.

“Safety is a right every citizen should be afforded despite socio-economic status. People want to feel safe. People are locked up in their homes because they are afraid of being gunned down.

“Every year, billions are allocated to fund the protective services, yet the murder toll cannot seem to go down. Business owners operate in fear, homeowners spend thousands on home security systems and or fashion their houses with impenetrable burglar proofing.

“We have the worst minister of national security – Fitzgerald Hinds – in the history of this country.

“Fitzgerald Hinds you need to go. You have no plans to fight crime.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

A $64.9 million contract has been awarded for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Vlissengen Road and Lamaha Road intersection.

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill said with works commencing on Saturday, commuters will soon have improved access when the stretch of road, measuring more than 100 metres, is rehabilitated.

“The part of Lamaha Street to Vlissengen Road that is sinking, the contract has already been awarded and that work should begin this week,” Minister Edghill stated.

The works are expected to be completed within four months and will be executed by Devcon Construction and Contracting Services.

Kester Hinds, Manager-Traffic/Safety/Maintenance at the ministry explained that a concrete revetment will be built to retain the existing road. The thoroughfare will also be widened to facilitate a left turning lane at the intersection, and the pedestrian walkway will be affixed to the revetment.

The PPP/C Administration continues to place heavy emphasis on ensuring Guyanese have access to quality roads. In 2022 alone, $76.7 billion was allocated through the national budget for roads and bridges.

Of that sum, $15.2 billion was earmarked for miscellaneous roads. This facilitated the upgrade and rehabilitation of roads in Regions, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and 10.

The Ministry received another $3 billion in supplementary funding in July to continue development in 70 local authority areas across the country. [Extracted and Modified from DPI]

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