AG challenges UNC on Tobago bill claims ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi rejected claims from the Opposition UNC that the Tobago Island Government Bill, 2021 took them completely by surprise. Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee first made this claim during debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, on a motion to adopt the Report of the Joint Select Committee on the Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill 2020. Speaking as sole contributor to debate on the Tobago Island Government Bill, 2021 in the House on Wednesday, Al-Rawi said, "The bill before us is a critical piece of law and, for the record, this bill, unlike fulminations coming from the Opposition as recently as yesterday I''m not going into that..but now in the public domain and I read it in the newspapers...there was this argument presented that somehow..this bill before us dropped out of the sky... came like manna from Heaven...and that everyone was caught unawares." He added, "That is the furthest thing from the truth." Al-Rawi said the 61 clauses and the two schedules in the bill "spring exactly from the 2016 legislative proposal from Tobago...the 2018 proposal from Tobago...both of which went to JSCs...two JSCs." He said the bill "brings to life an ambition, a desire, a burning flame of want of this government and the Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis...Mr (Orville) London, the previous chief secretary...Mr Charles the previous chief secretary...many other chief secretaries that have acted...that burning desire to give Tobago it''s fair share." He said both Tobago bills allow Tobagonians to deal with the longstanding, burning issue of managing land titles on the island.