By Sue-Ann Wayow
DEPUTY political leader of the Progressive Democratic Patriots Farley Augustine says he is doing enough to help people in his electoral district of Parlatuvier/L’Anse Fourmi/Speyside
He is refuting all claims made by Secretary of the Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson-Celestine that he has not done enough for members of his electoral district during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, Augustine said he had enough evidence to show he did his part and continued to do so, showing a number of screenshots with AZPNews.com
Davidson-Celestine during the division’s virtual press conference on Thursday knocked Augustine for previously raising statements about her intervention.
“He talks from all sides of his mouth and he does not always speak the truth,” she said.
She said, “I want people to know that my role in the Division is to ensure that we have policies set and those policies are able to meet the people out there.
Giving the reason why she intervened, Davidson-Celestine said, “I think the people of Tobago should focus on the lack of representation of their representative throughout that time.”
She admitted to her intervention saying she was responding to an urgent need.
Davidson-Celestine said, “I saw some statistics from the Division of Finance and the Economy that spoke to how assemblymen put in request for financial assistance and in that electoral district only 15 were put in by the electoral district representative.”
“Where was he in the height of the when all of his people were looking for support?” Davidson-Celestine asked.
However, Farley Augustine said, “Mrs Davidson-Celestine’s claims are the furthest from the truth. It is a desperate attempt to deflect from the fact that her office could not properly account by way of record keeping for nearly 700,000 in food vouchers.”
He said, “Last year during the first lockdown there were two options available to Tobagonians to apply for food cards.
“Either Tobagonians applied for temporary food cards via the Division of Finance and the Economy or they applied via the Social Relief Forms by ticking the option for Temporary Food Cards.
“No one was supposed to apply for both so as to avoid double dipping.
“Given the high demand on resources and food cards in particular, it was undesirable for an individual to end up with a food card through the social relief forms and at the same time from the Division of Finance and the Economy.
“It was one or the other. Both sets of applications were to be submitted electronically.”
Augustine said his office submitted applications for 26 food cards from the Division of Finance and the Economy and through the Social Relief programme 89 out of 138 applications ticked the option for food cards.
“In total 115 applications for Food Cards were submitted electronically,” Augustine said.
Augustine sent to AZPNews.com copies of forms used for highlighting the food care option, screenshots from the office’s email showing an automated response from the Division of Finance and screenshots from the Social Relief programme that the Division of Health Wellness and Family Development was helping to process. He also provided his office’s spreadsheet of the names of persons who received assistance and those who did not.
He asked what relation does his office application submission had to do with the findings from the Auditor General’s report that almost 7,000 food cards from the Division that were used/distributed by Secretaries cannot be properly accounted for?
Augustine said, “And what does my office submission of applications for food cards from the Social Relief programme through the Division of Health Wellness and Family Development have to do with the fact that the Auditor General cannot locate records for food vouchers distributed by the office of the Secretary of Health? Clearly this is all smoke screens and mirrors.”
The Auditor General’s report raised several issues in relation to information and distribution of grants and food vouchers. The division and by extension the Tobago House of Assembly had issued a detailed response to the report.
Davidson-Celestine emphasised at the press conference that the main task was to get help to those in need as quickly as possible and admitted there may have been flaws in the processes of which attempts will be made to rectify.
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