TOBAGO East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy said Tobagonians must not let their emotions allow a golden opportunity for greater self-government elude them.
She was contributing to debate on a motion to adopt the Report of the Joint Select Committee on the Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill, 2020 in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Webster-Roy said, "When emotions, posturing egotism, are stripped away and the views presented by Tobagonians from all sides are dissected in an unsympathetic manner, it becomes clear that Tobagonians have been clamouring for the same thing.'
She said Tobagonians do not want independence or secession from Trinidad.
"If we are honest, what the average Tobagonian aspires from this union (between Trinidad and Tobago) is a straightforward matters that has been complicated by those of us who have sat in positions of leadership and influence over the years."
The average Tobagonian, she said, wants equality of status within the unitary state of TT. She said this means Tobago would be on an equal footing, legally and conceptually with Trinidad.
"The average Tobagonian wants a fair share of the national pie."
She advised them, "When it comes to our future and right to self-determination, we cannot afford to be sentimental. It must be calculated and strategic.
"We must approach this quest for self-government with the maturity to recognise that the only reasonable path to self government is through an acceptance of the necessity of compromise."
Compromise, Webster-Roy added, "is not necessarily a bad thing."
She rejected the UNC's reiterated claims of insufficient consultation on the legislation.
"While increased consultation may be beneficial, the question is, when does consultation end?"
While the legislation is not perfect, Webster-Roy said it offered a workable solution to many of the issues that have concerned Tobagonians for many years.
She rejected calls by critics of the legislation for Tobagonians "to accept nothing and suffer even longer.."
She said this was ridiculous and Tobagonians must not lose this opportunity to improve their lives. "I fear that the voices of a few in Tobago will talk us out of this opportunity to advance our right to self-determination and internal self-government for the sake of political posturing and self-aggrandisement."
She said this was an opportunity to heal the relationship between Trinidad and Tobago which had been marred in the past by "anger, mistrust, hurt and fear."
La Horquetta/Talparo MP Foster Cummings agreed with Webster-Roy as he targeted the UNC's reluctance to support the legislation. In his view, from the United Labour Front (ULF) and through all its previous political incarnations, the UNC had never done anything positive for Tobago.
Cummings said it was instructive that the UNC has failed to identify any flaw in the legislation or proposed any amendments to the legislation, either during the JSC's delibera
