‘Farley, you need to man up’
President of the Tobago Business Chamber Martin George is calling on leaders of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) to “man up” and clear the air on the voice note, in which two people alleged to be THA officials are heard discussing the use of assembly funds to pay for partisan political activity.
“We think that it is now incumbent upon the leaders of the THA to come out and clear the air and indicate what, if any position, they have in relation to these matters, as they do not appear to be going away or dying quickly and have taken a life of its own,” he said yesterday.
He said notwithstanding the hallowed words of former prime minister Basdeo Panday, who said politics has a morality of its own, Tobagonians expect and, in fact maybe, are demanding that the current leadership of the THA show that as far as Tobago politics goes, it must be held to a higher moral and ethical standard, and one which can withstand scrutiny and searching and searing investigation, in so far as honesty, transparency and forthrightness,” he said.
“I think that unless this is addressed, one way or the other, there is going to be a continuing, lingering question mark over the relevance, validity, transparency and honesty of persons who may or may not, in one way or another, be implicated or associated with this voice note,” George stated.
“We think that it is incumbent upon all our leaders in Tobago to come together, not seek to make a political football out of it but to treat with this issue with maturity, sincerity, honesty and dignity. And, if it is necessary to indicate that there has been a mea culpa and an apology, after which we can try to move on with a sense of dignity and respect from the people of Tobago.
“In the circumstances, it appears that nothing less will suffice, nothing less will placate the calls and requests of the public and the media and the electorate, who are going to be called upon at some point to choose who their leaders in Tobago shall be,” George said.
He said at that point in time, the question will be this: “Who do you wish to lead you? Persons who are willing to ‘man up’ and admit if something went wrong and take the responsibility for it? Or persons who continue to engage in shenanigans, evasions and clever and crafted deceptions while seeking to obfuscate rather than elucidate on matters of national importance,” George said.
“There are, of course, very serious, weighty and troubling matters. And we of the Tobago Business Chamber maintain and re-emphasise our call for all public officials in Tobago to always seek to strive for the highest standards of moral and ethical behaviour while in public office, and particularly when dealing with matters of the public purse and matters of transparency and accountability,” he added.
By: Ria Taitt
