Police, Farley and an audio tape

With a police investigation into the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) “audio tape leak” allegedly involving two officials and Chief Secretary Farley Augustine’s explosive press briefing last Friday, the expected flourish of further accusations, denials and legal threats quickly erupted. So while the police look for any criminal implications from the audio tape, Augustine, 37, with his loyal executive behind him, has taken Tobago politics to an unsettling height. Rather than settling matters, further questions arise. His allegations of “contractor corruption” and denials have a long way to go, politically and legally. The troubling headlines will not stop.

Given the published backlash, Augustine himself appears to emerge “wounded and bruised” from his press disclosures. Even his "audiogate" explanations remain incomplete. His political stock and credibility have suffered blows. With more to come, Augustine may have to spend some time outing small and big bushfires.

After weeks of speculation and Augustine’s skirting around "audiogate", last Friday he spent about one hour dropping a bombshell list of alleged corrupt activities, most involving contractors and the PNM. He said he faced “extortion,” “threats to his life” and “blackmail” by a “mystery man” for allegedly having sex with a minor which led to an “abortion.” Wow! We also heard about a “psychic.” Intervention. Any police action on these “threats?” But what about the tape, the voices, numerous social media posts asked. Will forensic voice analysis become necessary? Augustine’s bombshell looked like a “distraction.” He should have dealt with the “corrupt contractors” matter separately, some said.

The threats and blackmail, he alleged, were mainly because he “did not pay” some people for questionable or incomplete work. For Augustine, all this is a declaration of war against “mischief-makers” and PNM agents in Tobago. “Part of a larger plot” since the THA “stood against corruption.” But the audiotape? Augustine continued, all this “overpricing we found makes me wonder what happened before we came." He then teasingly declared: “If hypocrisy had a face, it would look like (PNM Ministers) Shamfa Cudjoe, Ayanna Webster-Roy and (Minority Leader Kelvon Morris.) On social media Erica Charles asked: “What this has to do with the tape?” Morris described Farley’s corruption exposition as “baseless and disappointing.” Tobago’s homogeneous population (50,000) does not have any political ethnic shelter.

Social media became divided over his briefing. Some asking about the audiotape, others defending Augustine for honesty. In response to his corruption bombshells, we may hear “corruption” allegations against him from the two PNM MPs, and even from the Prime Minister himself. Tensions between the central government and the THA are likely to increase overtly or covertly. The named contractor has threatened to sue Augustine. For “lying.”

And at last, the audiotape came up. “The tape was a closed-door strategy,” Augustine disclosed. OK, but what about its controversial contents? He said “we were checking all possibilities.” At this point, he implied there was no intention, no decisive action to act illegally. He explained: “What the public should see is what is being executed.” Implying that he was present during the taped one-year old conversation, Augustine admitted: “I’m glad his thing came out because it showed we discussed it, we considered it and when you look at the facts, we aren’t hire no team nowhere.” Note the word “we” without calling names. Well, I suppose this is one thing ACP Wendell Lucas may look at.

Venturing further, Augustine said, “The leak came from (PDP leader Watson) Duke. Duke we suspect is the source of this leak.” What! This bombshell is big. Why Duke? Augustine alleged “he wanted us to pay (contractor).” Duke, saying that was “a lie”, quickly denied this and threatened to sue Augustine. The battle cries have been sounded.

Augustine referred to the infamous audio tape but without identifying the male and female voices. The Hitchcock mystery continues. Many people believe one is Augustine’s. Why not call names? In this zig-zag narrative, Augustine defensively admitted the words “hiring some people” as he and his secretaries “are entitled to.” That is, people who could “use Facebook for propaganda.” What? “This THA government explores all options,” he admitted. No names yet. “Why not hire social media to counter the narrative,” the voice proposed.

A male voice in another part of the published tape: “If you have 13 people now, you might just need five or seven to do strict PR. You could use some to do propaganda.” Aha, the provocative word, “propaganda.” The male voice continued: “Whether they are going to use fake profiles, whatever they do. What you will have to consider is finding a way to employ people on the THA side.” This is where the trouble starts. But whose voice? The population think they know but that is not yet evidence. The police and electorate will decide.

This one-month old “leak” provoked public uproar calling for Augustine to identify the “two officials” and verify the taped conversation. How could the police discover the names? Morris, smelling blood, loudly warned Augustine “don’t take Tobagonians for fools.” Dr Rowley has wisely kept his silence on this, instead attending to the other Tobago controversy – the appointment of a THA chief administrator.

This "audiogate" issue raises questions of political transparency and trust in politicians – important elements especially in a small society like Tobago striving for more self-government. Is this “leaked tape” just “a small thing” undeserving of such noisy hullabaloo? Why is Augustine not naming names? What are the two officials’ real intention? Was a decision made? Is there anything really ”corrupt” in the tape? Do words like “propaganda,” THA “salaries” and “shape the narrative” appear subversive? Is “propaganda” an ordinary tool of party politics? (Propaganda means “an organised programme of publicity, selected information, etc, used to propagate a doctrine, practice, etc.)

I will explain my little disappointment in Augustine. Soon after the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) beat the PNM by an astounding 14-1 ((PDP 16932 vs PNM 11943) in the THA 2021 election, like so many others I was amazed.

In my December 12, 2021 column, I wrote: “Of all the Tobago election scenes from television and newspapers, the one which touched my heart the most was seeing how Farley Augustine wept silently the Saturday before the elections when his father was describing his son’s character and struggles.”

Augustine, then PDP deputy leader, promised “transparency, political trust and integrity, accountability and zero-tolerance against political corruption.” Business leaders, Diane Hadad, Lancelot Jack and Martin George welcomed the “new politics.”

I then wrote: “Speaking before Farley was developmental economist and front-line PDP supporter, Dr Vanus James. Farley’s credibility and public morality gained strategic space to criticise PNM Tracy Davidson-Celestine over the ‘$3.5 million spent on the missing zip line.’”

Last week, a disappointed James in a Guardian interview professed: “The Augustine administration has lost credibility. There isn’t any comeback for them, especially since they had demonstrated a lot of incompetence.” The expensive Tobago cultural trip to New York and Watson Duke’s push-back still linger.

Augustine may be in trouble but I still believe he is a good man. Eventually cornered by the reality of politics, he should demonstrate that he is not a victim to the trappings and seductions of political power. His adviser, Anselm Richards, should have a word. If Augustine needs to bite the bullet as a sacrifice, he should do it and trust his Tobago people to decide one way or another. What are the legal implications if he calls names? But if he doesn’t fully explain everything about the tape would his compatriots see him as another “political smartman?” He had promised that when he speaks, he and his executive “will be exonerated.” It doesn’t seem so yet. It is not only politics. It is now about the police too.