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Economist Dr Vanus James has described a motion tabled by Chief Secretary Farley Augustine in the Assembly Legislature as “a bad motion.”

On May 22 a motion tabled by Augustine calling on the government, through the Attorney General and the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, to work with the THA to expand its legislative and regulatory authority over key areas in the Fifth Schedule, and to draft the necessary legal amendments in collaboration with the THA’s legal team was passed.

The motion also asks the government to review all previous versions of the Tobago autonomy bills with input from the THA, identify areas of consensus and refinement, and reintroduce the bills in Parliament at the shortest possible period. Augustine is expected to send this motion and a supporting policy paper to the Prime Minister at the earliest opportunity.