If the Chief Secretary of the Tobago Assembly, Farley Augustine, is as serious as he claims to be about financial accountability, then he should be prepared to take some political risks.
The culture surrounding state funding is so steeped in party politics that any attempt to break free from it must be expected to come with a price.
The case involving the Roxborough Folk Performers’ trip to New York is a classic case of all that can go wrong when the process of accessing public funds is either unclear or open to abuse. One of the obvious questions to ask the group is this: if THA agreed to cover the cost of airline tickets for the $400,417.50 contingent but did not provide funding for this item as promised, how did they all end up 27 members in New York in the first place?
A clear explanation seems to lie in the Chief Secretary’s statement last week that given the tight time frame for accessing funds, THA issued a promissory note to the travel agency that facilitated the trip.
Assuming this is correct, then the Roxborough group would have no claim to any of those funds. The Assembly would eventually make a payment directly to the travel agency and that would settle the matter.
However, the picture before us now bears all the hallmarks of a fiasco from which we must face many lessons to be learned. Chief among them is the need to follow a clear process. Transparency and accountability must be the essential building blocks.
No one can claim to be innocent of the extent to which state funding is a fodder for family, friends, associates and political alignments. This is the case at all times, regardless of regime or movement with one’s own hands.
There have been countless efforts, statements of intent and solemn commitments by those in office to be more accountable to the people who put them where they are. We have repeatedly heard from such officers, or aspirants for positions of power in our administrative architecture, promises to do better and be different.
Releasing their possession to the treasury challenges the political directorate due to the risk of vote alienation. However, there is a tremendous demand for a seismic shift in this aspect of administrative culture.
The non-traditional growth of Mr. Augustine to dominance, given the erratic leadership construct of his party, the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP), is an issue for many, in itself.
His appearance of easy rapport with the populace in general, and the electorate in Tobago to be more specific, has earned him immense goodwill and admiration.
However, this issue presents an urgent call for him to do the right thing. It is to establish in the mind of the public, precisely the process by which this agreement was finalized. His actions must match the image he sells, his communication style and his leadership style.
