PDP hits late wage payments

Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) deputy political leader Farley Augustine has accused government of giving out monthly disbursements as opposed to quarterly subventions to the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) for the payment of wages and other expenses.

Addressing a political meeting at Milford Court, Bon Accord on Saturday night, Augustine said the situation is causing hardship for various categories of workers as they are being paid late continuously.

"Cepep was supposed to get paid since Carnival Tuesday (Feb 25) and they still ain't get paid yet. Two fortnights straight and Cepep ain't get they money yet," he claimed.

"The people in the reafforestation programme going up country can't get paid, months upon months. And that is because the THA is not getting the monies that are due to it."

Augustine added: "That is unfair because the outgoing THA Chief Secretary (Kelvin Charles) and the incoming one, whoever he or she is, I am sure they have been paid already and they money done spend. And so the people who are most at risk on the island continue to be at risk because the issue of funding for THA business is not being addressed."

Tobago received $2.283 billion in the 2019/2020 budget. The minority assemblyman told supporters the THA is supposed to receive quarterly subventions from government.

"The law says it must come quarterly and you know what those wicked people have been doing, giving us month to month. So, we are on a month to month contract with the central government.

"And anybody who has been on a month to month contract, you know how uncertain that is. You really can't invest and plan in a long term manner, even a medium term manner."

Augustine said the party intends to raise this issue in the Parliament if it wins the Tobago East and West seats in this year's general election. The PDP hopefuls for the two seats are Watson Duke and Tashia Grace Burris, respectively.

Also high on the agenda, he said, is the thorny issue of land titles on the island. "Too many of us on this island cannot have titles for our land."

The Speyside/L'Anse Fourmi/Parlatuvier representative revealed he received a bill for water usage some time ago which was addressed: Florence Mc Call in care of Farley Augustine.

He said: "Now nobody in my family knows who Florence Mc Call is and we would have lived there for generations. We are seen as secondary to some mysterious owner that we don't know. And that is because we don't have land titles for our land."

Augustine said Tobagonians are unable to go to banks and other lending agencies to access mortgages because of the absence of land titles.