CAMILLE McEACHNIE
One of the deputy political leaders in the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP), Farley Augustine, says if it were not for the PDP’s actions, the Government would not have purchased the APT James fast ferry.
The interisland ferry is due to arrive in this country in days.
In an interview with reporters after filing his nomination papers on January 4th for the January 25th Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections, he said although the PDP is not in Government, the party “is serving Tobagonians well”.
“Imagine what we can do when we get into the THA… We lost in 2017, and it did not stop us from serving,” he said at the John Dial community Centre.
Farley Augustine asserted: “When we had no bus coming from the countryside, we walked from country to town. When the private sector was being crippled by the boat situation, we had to draw international attention by staging the swim protest so that we could get a boat coming in the next few days. Is we that cause that.”
He continued: “Unlike other reps (representatives) from other parties, we have never left the ground… Our service is based on the fact that we are Tobagonians first and foremost.”
Predicting overall victory for the PDP in the elections, Farley Augustine said the party’s first act will be to set up an executive council reflecting the composition of Tobago’s economic and social landscapes.
“We are ready to govern from the first few hours of winning the elections,” Augustine said.
The PDP is fielding candidates in all 12 electoral districts. The People’s National Movement (PNM) also is fielding 12 candidates.
The PNM won 10 seats and PDP the remaining two, in the 2017 THA elections.
