Tobago People’s Party (TPP) political leader Farley Augustine has urged voters to hold the PNM accountable for what he described as the country’s current state of decline.
Speaking at a public event, Augustine said the PNM must take full responsibility for the country’s economic challenges, rising crime, and collapsing public services.
“Everyone else is the problem, except they, who have been given more times more opportunities than any other party to govern the country,” he said.
He noted that since independence in 1962, the PNM has ruled for the majority of that time, with only a few short breaks in leadership.
“Yes, it was not until 1986 that a non-PNM party ruled the country, the NAR, and then sometime later on we had Basdeo Panday with the 1996 election. And though he won a second term, that was ill-fated. And then it was not till 2010 we had [former prime minister] Mrs Persad-Bissessar that ran it for five years. But every other term of governorship in this country was run by the red people.”
Augustine urged voters not to blame other political parties for the nation’s struggles.
“I want you to have an appreciation for where the blame for poor governance must go,” he said. “Because if at this point in our age as a country, we are grappling with high levels of crime, they’re responsible. If we are here in 2025 and you can’t even get US$5 to shop online, they’re responsible.”
He added: “If you can’t leave your house open, you have to put on burglar proofing in Tobago, and we can’t control our borders—responsible. When it is you see that public transportation in the country, it ain’t good, it’s not the best—they are the ones running PTSC, they are the ones running Caribbean Airlines, they are the ones running the seaport and the inter-island ferry service. They are the ones responsible.”
