A Tobago Servant Passes On - Rennie Dumas

MEDIA RELEASE'

May 14, 2017

Rennie Dumas (1955-2017) 

A Tobago Servant Passes On

The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago wishes to express deepest sympathy to the family, relatives and friends of Rennie “Stretch” Dumas who passed away this morning after a prolonged illness. He leaves to mourn his companion Annalean Innis and eight children.

Mr. Dumas first entered the Parliament as an Opposition Senator in 2001 and served the people of Trinidad and Tobago until the general election of May 2010 when he demitted office. During that period, he also served as a Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, and held the Cabinet portfolios of Minister of Public Utilities and the Environment, Minister of Local Government, and Minister of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development respectively.
Mr. Dumas was elected as the Member of Parliament for Tobago East in the general election of November 2007. He also carved out a niche for himself in the politics of Tobago, where he served as the Education Officer of the Tobago Council of the PNM from 2000 until his death.

A towering figure, whose height earned him the nickname “Stretch”, Mr. Dumas was a true son of the Tobago soil. He received his secondary education at Bishop’s High School in Tobago, and regardless of where his educational and professional travels took him, he always returned to his beloved Plymouth.

He was relentless in his pursuit of an enhanced quality of life for his fellow Tobagonians and always contributed to the discussion on the issue of greater autonomy for Tobago. His last foray into the political arena was his challenge to become the Political leader of the PNM in Tobago in 2016.

Mr. Dumas’ Parliamentary contributions were always well researched and expertly delivered, and bore all the hallmarks of his earlier days as a teacher and advocate as President of the St. Augustine Campus’ University Guild of Students. His huge smile across the Parliamentary floor almost always preceded a well-articulated point or a perfectly timed jab at his political opponents.

We extend deepest condolences to his family, the people of Tobago for whom he worked tirelessly, and Trinidad and Tobago for whom he was a devoted public servant.

 

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