SCARBOROUGH, Tobago, CMC – Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Farley Augustine, says. At the same time, he will not propose provisions for secession; however, if public consultations reveal support for including such an option, Tobagonians “will get what they want”.
Augustine, speaking during an online media briefing following his visit to St Kitts and Nevis as part of the Trinidad and Tobago delegation for the 50th regular meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit, told reporters that the ultimate decision on whether to secede from the oil-rich twin island republic will rest with the people of Tobago.
“I am not coming up with these laws and saying this is what I want. We are going to the people of Tobago, and what they want will factor into the proposed legislation,” he told the online media briefing.
Augustine added that a simple majority would not be sufficient for a decision as consequential as secession.
“You don’t want the union to be separated by just 51 per cent of the people saying yes. That can’t work. It has to be a special and high benchmark if such a provision is to be included in the laws,” he said.
After his Tobago People’s Party (TPP) won all 15 seats in the THA elections last December, Augustine has since been aggressively pursuing greater legislative autonomy and internal self-government for Tobago, aiming for a referendum by mid-2026 to define the island’s governance structure. He is advocating for “internal self-government” rather than full independence.
During his visit to Basseterre, Augustine held talks with Nevis Premier Mark Brantley and later described Nevis’ autonomy laws as “progressive,” adding that Tobago could draw lessons from them in its quest for greater self-determination.
Under Article 113 of the St Kitts and Nevis Constitution, Nevis has the right to secede once two-thirds of voters approve the move in a referendum. A 1998 attempt to secede fell just four percentage points short of the required 66 per cent threshold.
“Our proposals for a referendum would not include a right to secede. What St Kitts and Nevis did was set a very high benchmark in law: two-thirds of the population, plus two-thirds of the Nevis Island Administration, must say yes for Nevis to depart from the federation. That right to self-determination is embedded in their laws,” Augustine said, and that the ultimate decision will rest with the people of Tobago.
Augustine also met Sir Kennedy Simmonds, the 90-year-old former ST. The Prime Minister of Kitts and Nevis, who was in office when Nevis was granted autonomy.
Augustine said he was struck by the contrast between the governance relationship in St Kitts and Nevis and that of Trinidad and Tobago, pointing to significant differences between previous failed autonomy bills under the former People’s National Movement (PNM) administrations and the arrangements currently in place in St Kitts and Nevis.
Augustine has criticised the 2024 autonomy bills proposed by the PNM administration as “incomplete,” arguing they do not grant enough power over essential functions. He has repeatedly stated he is not pushing for secession from Trinidad, but rather a more functional, autonomous relationship within the union.
During his news briefing, Augustine praised Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for her handling of issues at last week’s CARICOM, calling her approach “principled” and suggesting she “has more balls” than her male counterparts in the region.
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