Former Clerk of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Vanessa Cutting-Thomas, is the new Presiding Officer of the Assembly Legislature of the THA. She was sworn in on Thursday morning. She replaces Dr. Denise Tsoiafatt-Angus, who served as Presiding Officer for the last two and half years.
Tsoiafatt-Angus resigned last month, as she prepared to contest for the post of Political Leader of the Tobago Council of the PNM. Cutting-Thomas also served as Presiding Officer for a short stint after Kelvin Charles resigned the post back in 2016. She served from April 28, 2016 to January 26, 2017.
Cutting-Thomas was nominated by Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, while the Leader of Assembly Business Kwesi Des Vignes, Secretary for the Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and the Environment, seconded the motion at the 32nd plenary sitting.
In a press release issued shortly after her swearing in, the PNM Tobago Council extended congratulations on behalf of the membership of Tobago Council of the PNM and the Political Leader, Kelvin Charles
“Mrs. Cutting-Thomas is very experienced and has demonstrated her competence through her ability to rise above the trappings of partisan politics. As such, there is no doubt that her stewardship will be one that the members of the Assembly as well as the public will appreciate.”