THE TOBAGO HOUSE
OF ASSEMBLY ACT, 1996
An
Act to repeal and replace the Tobago House of Assembly Act,
Chap. 25:03, to provide for the membership, powers and functions of the Tobago
House of Assembly and its Executive Council and matters incidental thereto.
Ministry of Tobago
Affairs
10 St Vincent Street
(Cor. St Vincent Street &
Independence Square South)
Port of Spain, Trinidad
Telephone:
868-624-1403
868-624-4792
Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago
Act No. 40 of 1996
Members of the Assembly
Section
5
The
Assembly shall be a body corporate and consist of -
(a)
Twelve
Assemblymen elected at an election held in accordance with the Representation
of the People Act, but subject to section 15(1)(b);
(b)
Four
Councillors appointed in accordance with section 9;
(c)
A
Presiding Officer who may or may not be an Assemblyman or a councilor, who
shall not be a member of the Executive Council and who shall be elected in
accordance with section 7.
Functions of the Assembly
Section
25
Without
prejudice to section 75(1) of the constitution, the Assembly shall, in relation
to Tobago, be responsible for the formulation and implementation of policy in
respect of the matters set out in the Fifth schedule.
Executive Council of the
Assembly
Section
33
The
Executive Council shall comprise -
(a)
The
Chief Secretary;
(b)
The
Deputy Chief Secretary;
(c)
Such
other Secretaries, not being more than five, selected from among the Members of
the Assembly as the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief
Secretary may appoint.
Section
34
The
Executive Council shall be responsible for the carrying out of the functions of
the Assembly and the Chief Secretary may, for that purpose, undertake or assign
to a Secretary, responsibility for any such function.
In the
exercise of their powers, the Members of the Executive Council shall be
individually and collectively responsible to the Assembly.
Section
37
Where
a Secretary is assigned responsibility for a Division of the Assembly, he shall
exercise general direction and control over that Division.
Nothing
in this Act shall affect mutual consultation between and Minister and a Secretary.
Staff and Related Matters
Section
71
There
shall be assigned to the Assembly, a Chief Administrator who shall be a public
officer for the purposes of section 121 of the Constitution.
Section
72
There
shall be assigned to the Assembly, a Clerk who shall be responsible for the
efficient discharge of such functions as fall to be discharged by him under the
Rules and Standing Orders of the Assembly or as may be assigned to him by the
Presiding Officer.
FIFTH SCHEDULE
Areas
of responsibility of the Assembly
1.
Finance,
that is to say, the collection of revenue and the meeting of expenditure incurred
in the carrying out of the functions of the Assembly;
2.
State
Lands;
3.
Land
and marine parks;
4.
Museums,
archives, historical sites and historical buildings;
5.
Public
buildings and the maintenance of the residences of the President and the Prime
Minister;
6.
Tourism;
7.
Sports;
8.
Culture
and the Arts;
9.
Community
Development;
10.
Co-operatives;
11.
Agriculture;
12.
Fisheries;
13.
Food
Production
14.
Forestry;
15.
Town
and Country Planning;
16.
Infrastructure,
including air and sea transportation, wharves and airports and public
utilities;
17.
Telecommunications;
18.
Highway
and Roads;
19.
Industrial
Development;
20.
The
Environment;
21.
Customs
and Excise;
22.
Licensing;
23.
Health
Services;
24.
Library
Services;
25.
Education
including Curriculum;
26.
Social
Welfare;
27.
Marketing;
28.
Valuations;
29.
Postal
services and collection of revenue therefrom;
30.
Statistics
and Information;
31.
Hosing;
32.
Plant
and Animal Quarantine;
33.
Such
other matters as the President may, by Order, assign to the Assembly.
SIXTH SCHEDULE
Matters
for which the Assembly Shall Not Be Responsible
1.
The
President;
2.
National
Security;
3.
Foreign
Affairs;
4.
Civil
Aviation;
5.
Meteorology;
6.
Immigration;
7.
Legal
Affairs including the registration of legal documents;
8.
Judiciary;
9.
Auditor
General;
10.
Ombudsman;
11.
Service
Commissions.