Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday dismissed reports of growing tension between herself and Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Orville London saying that they do speak to each other.
London came in for special mention in the opening remarks of Persard-Bissessar’s feature address at the formal opening of the Trade and Investment Convention 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Port of Spain.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the Chief Secretary and said she was pleased that he was able to attend the convention.
“Very happy to see you here, sir. Thank you for joining us. Regardless of what they say we do speak with each other,” she said.
Her greeting caused ripples of laughter throughout the audience which included the Minister of Trade and Industry Stephen Cadiz and Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan.
On Saturday, Persad-Bissessar announced plans to “fully operationalise” the office on the sister isle during a celebration in Tobago to mark the People’s Partnership first anniversary and a day earlier opened an office of the Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP).
The move prompted London to complain that the Central Government has shown “disrespect” with its continuous attempts to encroach on the THA’s jurisdiction and undermine its authority and announced that he intended to take the Government to court on opening of the CEPEP office. (Trinidad Express)
