Duke pledges $10,000 monthly to help hungry, challenges PM, President to do same

Public Services Association (PSA) president and leader of Tobago's Progressive Democratic Patriots Watson Duke says he will donate $10,000 from his monthly income to the needy in light of rising hunger across Trinidad and Tobago.

In a virtual address on Monday, Duke called on the country's leaders and everyone else earning over $20,000 to do the same.

"I will be donating $10,000 cash to help my people in this country," said Duke. "It's a drop in the bucket or maybe wind in the hand but it goes a long way in alleviating starvation and hunger and those in need.

"I have said that I cannot eat a plate of food and my neighbour has none.

"I cannot sit down around juice, all kind of salad, all kind of meat and there have people who don't have rice to cook, who don't even have peas to cook, who have nothing, and the government is happy."

Duke said he had documents purportedly showing that from March, last year, to now, the PM and the President each "collected almost $1 million in taxpayers' money," while the Opposition Leader, he said, "has collected more, $1.4 million, because she collects a pension from being prime minister...

"If this is true, I am challenging them today, I want to issue a new challenge today: Every month, I challenge all persons working upward of $20,000 per month, I am challenging you to donate $10,000 every month."

Duke also said he wanted to warn the prime minister about mass demonstrations once covid19 restrictions are lifted.

"People are dying from starvation, people are suffering with real hunger in Tobago because the governance structure of the THA (Tobago House of Authority) that we had once believed, the governance structure that you have sworn to protect by the Constitution, and by the oath of office, you have left it to tumble and to rotten on the ground.

"I want Rowley to know today, the day you take off the covid restrictions, the day it is back to normal, is the day a mass, a group of people (will) take back our power."

He said he will split his donation equally between both islands, and recipients of the "rescue relief" package are not limited to the PSA's membership.

Applicants can fill out a form online, which is available via a web link, on the PSA's Facebook page.