The Innovative Democratic Alliance (IDA) has raised concerns over Prime Minister Rowley’s recent visit to the new main terminal building construction site for the ANR Robinson International Airport in Crown Point without the involvement of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).
During an IDA press conference on July 10, the party’s public relations officer, Kaye Trotman, criticized the Prime Minister’s actions. Prime Minister Rowley visited the construction site on July 9 to receive an update on the project’s progress, accompanied by the president of the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) Esther Farmer and NIDCO chairman Stephen Gardiner.
Trotman expressed disappointment at the lack of involvement of Tobago’s representatives in such a crucial development project. She emphasized the need for collaboration between the Prime Minister and THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, as mandated by the Tobago House of Assembly Act.
According to Trotman, “Diversification and development of the TT economy demands that where such efforts must occur in the Tobago space, Tobago and its representatives must be duly and respectfully engaged and not dictated to.”
This incident has highlighted the IDA’s call for urgent and comprehensive constitutional reform to ensure greater community rights and proper engagement in crucial decision-making processes that impact the nation of TT, and its individual islands of Tobago and Trinidad.
