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Source: The Trinidad and Tobago Express (Port of Spain)
A circular from the Office of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and signed by Head of the Public Service, Sandra Marchack, orders all Ministries located in Port of Spain to close, tomorrow, Friday, November 27, 2009, for the opening day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Given that most of the ministries are situated in the capital of Port of Spain (Finance, Planning, Housing, Works and Transport, Attorney General, Sports, Public Utilities, Energy, Trade, Public Administration), and that the Ministry of Education has instructed all schools to close tomorrow as well, this amounts to a public sector holiday for the overwhelming majority of public servants.
Such an announcement had been expected, ever since the Prime Minister had announced that Trinidad and Tobago had been selected to host the 2009 CHOGM (29-Nov-2005) and later confirmed the actual dates of the meeting (04-Jan-2009). A similar public sector holiday was declared, last spring, on the occasion of the Fifth Summit of the Americas (07-Apr-2009).
This contrived way to declare a de facto public sector holiday, without officially doing so, seems to be a way to save face after the government recently ruled-out a one-off public holiday for the upcoming November 27-29 CHOGM Summit (16-Nov-2009).
Related links:
•
Trinidad and Tobago bank holidays and public holidays (current
year)
• Trinidad and Tobago bank holidays and public holidays (news and updates)
• Worldwide
bank holidays and public holidays news updates (November 2009)
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Trinidad and Tobago Declares CHOGM Public Sector Holiday