Duke asks THA: Is Tobago benefiting from $17.5m being spent on carnival?

PROGRESSIVE Democratic Patriots (PDP) political leader Watson Duke is calling on the THA executive council to say how much of the $17.5 million being spent on Tobago’s inaugural carnival is actually benefiting the island.

“We are spending $17.5 million on carnival. But we want to know how much of that money remains in Tobago?” he asked in a video on Monday posted on his Facebook page. “Was that money carefully planned? They must be able to say that. How much of that $17.5 million remained in Tobago?”

Duke also wondered how much profit is being made from the carnival.

“Because if no profit is being made from it, then you would have taken Tobagonians’ money and you would have wiped your behind and flushed it down the toilet. It is of no use to Tobagonians."

He said Tobagonians are not interested in “shrills and thrills.

“We are interested in what makes sense to the belly, what makes sense to the mind, what makes sense to the generation.”

Duke called on the THA o say how many youths have been employed for the carnival..

“What is the average salary they are employed at? Are these sustainable jobs?”

He also accused the Farley Augustine-led THA of defying the law.

Augustine and Duke belong to the same party, which has a 14-1 majority in the THA, but the two have fallen out.

Referring to the stage – a paved area – in the sea that was constructed near to the I Love You Tobago sign at Rockly Bay, Scarborough, Duke said, “The EMA (Environmental Management Authority), they stopped you when it was just being built. You all continued to build it and paved it. And to date, you all have not done what is called an environmental impact assessment.

Duke urged the THA executive: “Get ahold of yourselves.

“This is not a friendly society, where you all make plans for yourselves to benefit yourselves. This is a public organisation called the THA, and you must hold yourselves accountable. I am saying to you now, if you do not shape up you will have to ship out.

"This is not longtime politics. We promised the people of Tobago a political revolution. Bet your bottom dollar we will ensure that the people of Tobago get the revolution that they have spoken of.”