London: New faces in THA a signal of transition

Chief Secretary Orville London says the appointment of area representatives for Parlatuvier/L’Anse Fourmi/Speyside Tracy Davidson-Celestine as his deputy is a signal of transition for the Tobago Council of the People’s National Movement. There was speculation that Hilton Sandy was stripped because of the “Calcutta Ship” statement made during the campaign for the THA election on Monday.

Speaking with the media yesterday, London, however, said the move was a statement of transition for the party because they made promises to the people of Tobago and had nothing to do with Sandy. 

“You cannot focus on who has been replaced, you have to focus on who has been appointed because the replacement is no longer the person with whom you have to treat and sometimes when we look at these things we look at them from such a negative perspective and I want to indicate to you that the PNM has made a pact with the people of Tobago,” he said.

“The PNM has indicated that we in the THA are saying that this is transition time and that is why we brought to the table a number of young, new and fresh faces so that the people could be prepared for the transition.” London, voted in for a fourth consecutive four-year term of office, said they wanted to send a powerful signal to the people of Tobago that they did not want to wait for change and that the PNM represented change.

“We made a promise that we are blending the youth and the experience so that the younger people can learn from the older people and we are preparing them,” he said London has indicated that he will be serving his last term and will not be returning for the 2017 election. He said while the party was preparing for the future and succession planning was in the making, Davidson–Celestine’s post was not cast in stone and was in no way a sign of him showing preferential treatment

“It is an appointment, not an anointment and therefore I don’t want anybody to draw any further conclusions from that,” he said. “It sends no signal about any leadership choices. When the time comes the democratic process will chip in and everything is up for grabs.”