The Tobago House of Assembly bill to amend the Constitution to accord Self-Government to Tobago will be presented in Parliament shortly and there is already concerns over one of its major provisions–the creation of a People's House.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the legislation was expected to be presented in the Parliament on December 16.
The legislation was prepared after discussions were held by a team led by Chief Secretary Orville London and included former chief secretary Hochoy Charles.
It is expected to give the people of the island more autonomy.
One of the controversial provisions in the bill was the creation of a People's House in the Tobago House of Assembly. The legislation provides for the creation of the new House so there will be the Chamber made up of the elected assemblymen and the People's House, which will be appointed by the ruling party in the THA.
Former head of the public service, Reginald Dumas, said he was very concerned about that matter as the People's House was to be appointed by the ruling party in the THA.
Charles is distancing himself from that document and is insisting that it be taken back to the people for consultations.
Charles and London were unavailable for comment when the T&T Guardian attempted to reach them.
Dumas said he read part of the bill , but "was not able to conclude my reading of it because much of what I was seeing was absurd."
He also raised concerns about the proposed People's House for the Assembly, which he added , was to be similar to the Senate in Port-of-Spain. He said the provision for the ruling party in the Assembly to choose the members of the People's House was "absurd (and) that flies in the face of democracy. How could you call that a People's House if the House is being selected by the Lower House." He said he was concerned that the proposal did not mention that the members were to represent specific interests. Dumas said he "simply put it aside because the document struck me as (being) increasingly absurd."
Dumas said what was worse was that former THA chief secretary Hochoy Charles, who was party of the Tobago Forum of Political parties, had distanced himself from it.
Other members of the forum were Rennie Dumas, Neil Wilson and London, who were all from the PNM. He said Charles insisted that the bill should be discussed with the people of the island.
Dumas said that was a clear indication that the legislation was not discussed with people of Tobago. Dumas insisted: "The average person in Tobago has never seen this bill."
He said the discussion held by the forum were not detailed . Dumas said the lack of consultations with the people of Tobago "undermines the whole credibility of thing in the first place
Dumas said he did not see how many members will comprise the People's House.
Rowley said the date for the THA election is to be announced by President Anthony Carmona. He said that will be done with the required consultations with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The assembly was dissolved in October. Rowley said the polls must be held by the first week of February next year. He said the EBC report on the THA elections will also be taken to Parliament shortly and when approved the date will be announced.
There are 12 electoral districts on the island. The PNM won all districts in the 2013 THA elections.
Dumas said he felt the PNM will win again in 2017 but he hoped there would be an Opposition to share a different view. He said the parties on the island opposed to the PNM were "fragmented and does not resonate with the people."
Dumas said: "What we have now is a monolith."
Dumas said he expects the new party formed by PSA leader Watson Duke to be the only won to pose a challenge to the PNM in eastern districts.