Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was treated to a welcoming fanfare at his alma matas—the Mason Hall Government Primary School and Bishops High School—yesterday.
He visited Tobago for the first time since becoming Prime Minister on September 7 and opted to pay homage to his roots, the day before his 66th birthday.
In his address to the packed hall of students at the Bishops High School, Rowley stressed the importance of rules, noting there are always consequences to actions and decisions.
“A breach of common sense, is a breach of the school rules. That is such a fundamental rule that has stayed with me since First Form.
“In other words don’t be stupid. There’s a penalty for that. There was serious consequences to a breach of rule one.
“You know that piece of grass in the middle is sacred ground and you are not supposed to walk on that grass unless you belong to the hierarchy of the school. So what we learned in Bishops is there are always consequences to your actions.” he said
Rowley told the young people, his administration was working assiduously towards autonomy for Tobago. He said the PNM administration at the level of the Cabinet would begin to consider proposals for increased responsibility for the administration of Tobago come January 2016.
He said the success of the new responsibility depended on everyone, including them as students.
He added: “As a Tobagonian, I have a duty to ensure that process is completed in the shortest possible time and that Trinidad and Tobago gives Tobago maximum autonomy that Tobago could have in the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago.
“So when you get that autonomy, I expect that many of you in this room today, will be destined to play some significant roles, and every one of you will play a role as a responsible Tobagonian in conducting yourself in this island to make the nation of Trinidad and Tobago proud of what is going on in Tobago.”
He said too many Tobagonians were relying on the Tobago House of Assembly for means of employment and their well-being.
He urged the citizens to expand the economy, even if external assistance had to be explored and utilised.
“When you look at the overall picture of Tobago, there’s too much of Tobago on the Assembly’s payroll.
“We want more of you Tobagonians to be on payrolls that are not the Assembly’s payroll and for that to happen, the economy of Tobago has to expand, it has to grow, you have to open your mind to receive people into Tobago.”