Morris claims Darrel Spring/Whim being punished for voting PNM

Electoral representative for Darrel Spring/ Whim Kelvon Morris is accusing the current administration of punishing his district for voting for the People's National Movement (PNM) in the December 6, 2021, Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections.

Morris was the lone successful PNM candidate, after the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) won the THA elections by a landslide 14-1.

At Tuesday evening’s Minority Report on Tobago Updates, Morris said: “You see where I am not getting the kind of support from my colleagues who are on the other side, because we have a number of infrastructural challenges.”

He said one challenge at Spring Trace in Darrel Spring was created when a project started by the former administration was halted while still incomplete.

“All it required was just a final phase of paving, and now it has now gotten so bad that the road is worse than before. The thing about it, on the other side, which is not my side, the work continued. You’re seeing the disadvantage.”

He said at his district sports event kept last Monday, a man approached him about a hole along Glen Road.

He claimed the PDP initiative for the public to report roads needing repairs, Show Me A Road Tobago (SMART), was ignoring his district,

“Like the SMART isn’t that smart. We would have sent that particular road; it is an eyesore, it is a gaping hole, it’s probably like a swimming pool – you could actually swim in there – and it’s by one of the major educational institutions. We’ve sent the GPS location to SMART and up to now – no feedback, nothing.”

He said that residents are calling for their playing field to be lit.

“This ground is one of the most utilised facilities in terms of training. So you have a number of youth academies and normally fellas from Glen Road, Mt Pelier, Whim, Idlewild come across and use that venue in the evening to have their various small-goal sweat. They are now clamouring for the playing field to be lit. In fact, that is something we were well under way to having advanced conversations on and I am now trying to see if they would consider continuing those conversations to the point of implementing and installing lights at that facility.”

Employment, he said, also remains a challenge.

“We’re hearing in one division in particular, they would have recruited over 40 or 60 persons and not one person was chosen from my electoral district. There again you’re seeing the discrimination.”

He said: “These are some of the challenges that we’re experiencing but we continue to do as much as we can, and the residents continue to be very reasonable and understanding as well. There again you have to ask the question: is this discrimination to the people of Darrel Spring/Whim?”

Contacted on Wednesday, Morris said some of the challenges are on record of the Hansard at the Assembly Legislature, while in the case of the issues he faces as Minority Leader, the Chief Secretary is aware.

“We did have a discussion in the presence of former Chief Administrator, Clerk of the Assembly, Presiding Officer and Leader of Assembly Business. We got commitments but to date a number of these issues remain outstanding and unresolved.”

Newsday made several attempts to contact THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine on Wednesday, but all calls and messages went unanswered.