SCARBOROUGH, Tobago– The infighting within the ruling Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) was brought into the public domain on Friday with the party’s leader, Watson Duke, announcing the removal of three deputies, including Farley Augustine, the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).
The THA is a unicameral devolved legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Duke said that the removal of Augustine, Faith B.Yisrael, and Alicia Roberts-Paterson as PDP deputy political leaders was taken during a Thursday night meeting.
“These now vacated positions will be filled by the appointment of the Political Leader of PDP Tobago members in good standing with the party,” the release stated.
The PDP had won all but one of the 12 seats in the THA elections last December, defeating the People’s National Movement (PNM) that had been in control of the administration on the sister aisle for the past 20 years.
Duke, a former president of the Public Service Association (PSA), took the deputy THA Chief Secretary position. At the same time, the two other dismissed party officials had been provided positions within the new administration.
The decision by Duke to dismiss the revoke the appointments of the three party members followed an announcement by Augustine that he would be “reviewing the responsibilities” of Duke and that a “decision” would be made on Duke’s responsibilities before the weekend.
Augustine also described as “unfortunate” the behavior of the Deputy Chief Secretary” who, on a Facebook page earlier this week, had accused the THA of not providing for the needs of 27 “hungry and forgotten” members of the Roxborough Folk Performing group who are in New York performing at various events.
Duke, who is in New York for meetings, said in the video that the performers were treated as “thieves, slaves, and castaways,” and because of a lack of proper accommodation, they had to sleep in a basement for a few days with dead rats.
Augustine, insisting that “only one Chief Secretary,” told reporters that the performers were not sent to New York by the THA but that the THA had assisted them with over TT$400, 000 (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) in airfare and accommodation.
But Duke, on a new Facebook page, urged Augustine to “humble himself,” saying that the threat to review his position was laughable.
“As founder and political Leader of PDP, I chose to speak up yesterday for 27 hungry Tobagonians stranded in New York, which resulted in a direct threat from my deputy Political Leader. This is a man I love as a brother, and having brought him into the PDP as a newbie.
“I nurtured him and watched him grow. However, today my brother has commenced a political war against his Political Leader, which he cannot win. Therefore, I caution him to drink cooling bush and smoke the peace pipe,” Duke said.
and then 
