Tobago “shaming.”
PNM Government senator Nadine Stewart added a new category to the “shaming” dictionary yesterday when she accused UNC Senator Danny Solomon of making offensive remarks about Tobagonians’ selling of certain delicacies.
She was referring to remarks he made when he spoke in Wednesday’s Senate debate of the 2017 budget.
Stewart, in her Senate budget contribution yesterday, noted that Solomon had spoken about Tobagonians selling bene balls and toolum. This was among his remarks on local tourism on which he had made recommendations.
But Stewart said some Tobagonianas were upset at Solomon alluding to such sales and linking it to Tobagonians. She questioned why he was “berating” (sic) the way they made their livelihood selling such delicacies.
“We won’t encourage this type of shaming,” Stewart said.
She also waded into UNC Senator Wade Mark who, in his contribution on Thursday, had spoken about $500,000 allocated in the budget to build a residence for the Prime Minister in Tobago.
Yesterday Stewart explained the $500,000 was to demolish the current structure at the location and to go towards building “suitable accommodation in Tobago for the officer holder.”
“The Opposition wants to class Tobagonians as second class citizens. Isn’t it Trinidad and Tobago?” Stewart asked.
She said the Opposition had claimed that former PNM prime minister Patrick Manning had built “a vanity house” (sic) at St Ann’s, the PM’s official residence and Diplomatic Centre, when he was in office.
But during the UNC/PP’s term “aunty, uncle, nennen, boy, girl all moved into the official residence at St Ann’s,” she added.
Stewart also said a Bill on internal self-government would be debated in the Tobago legislative chamber next week and would subsequently be sent to Cabinet
The planned Sandals investment would be the catalyst to solve low hotel occupancy and issues concerning North American airlift and all other hotels would have to upgrade their facilities due to Sandals’ presence, Stewart added.
She said Tobagonians could expect an improvement in the standard of living when “Tobago is returned to the PNM in the next Tobago House of Assembly elections.”