Tobago Chief Secretary calls on churches to give view on second Carnival

Tobago: Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Orville London has called on the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies to express its views on the staging of a second carnival in Tobago.

The THA and the Minister of Arts and Multi-Culturalism Winston "Gypsy" Peters have been squabbling over the hosting of a second carnival on the island later this year, with the minister insisting on it and the THA against it.

London says the church has a role to play in what he calls specific development issues with moral and ethical overtones, adding that the church especially in the Caribbean has remained too silent too long on too many things.

London says the church has to use its authority and power and play a role in governance.

Minister Peters said on Monday he had consulted with stakeholders on the second carnival but when asked whether he had consulted with members of the churches in Tobago who were also stakeholders he said he was not organising a church event.