by Linda Straker
- Dame Cécile La Grenade left state today on personal business
- Tillman Thomas will have power to assent any documents that need Governor-General’s approval
- Dessima Williams, who usually is usually appointed the deputy, is currently in Uganda
Former Prime Minister Tillman Thomas is appointed Deputy to the Governor-General, because Governor-General Dame Cécile La Grenade is out of State. He will hold the post for one day.
“The Governor-General Her Excellency Dame Cécile La Grenade left the state today to attend to personal business. The Governor-General is scheduled to return later this evening. Former Prime Minister Mr Tillman Thomas has been appointed to serve as Governor-General in the absence of Her Excellency, Dame Cécile La Grenade,” said a news release from the Government Information Service (GIS).
As Deputy to the Governor-General, Mr Thomas will have the power to assent to any documents that need approval from the Governor-General.
Dessima Williams, President of the Senate who usually holds the position whenever the Governor-General is out of state, is currently in Uganda attending the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC), which ran from 3–6 January. Leo Cato, Speaker of the Lower House, is also attending the conference.
The aim of the conference, according to cspoc.org, is to maintain, foster, and encourage impartiality and fairness on the part of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments; promote knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms; and develop parliamentary institutions.
The conference is an independent group and has no formal affiliation with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth Secretariat, or the Commonwealth Heads of Government. CSPOC operates on a 2-year cycle, holding a conference of the full membership every 2 years, usually early in January, and a meeting of the Standing Committee at the same time the intervening year.
