The abundance of political goodwill which helped Farley Augustine attain the highest elected office in Tobago politics is rapidly eroding, as he dodges questions about the controversial audio clip that has been circulating on social media for the better part of this week.
Mr Augustine’s meteoric rise to become the fifth Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) seemed to usher in a new era in T&T politics, particularly because Tobago is considered to be a bellwether of electoral trends in the country.
It was not all that long ago that he was being hailed as the golden boy of Tobago politics, after joining forces with Watson Duke to lead the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) to a historic 14-1 win in the THA elections.
Unseating the PNM after more than 20 years of power on the island was no mean feat and Mr Augustine’s success in the December 2021 polls was historic, not only because of the resounding defeat inflicted on the former ruling party in the THA but because he became the youngest ever Chief Secretary.
However, Mr Augustine’s ascent, once seen as a much needed changing of the guard, now seems to be crumbling.
The Chief Secretary now needs to embark on some urgent damage control to have any chance of silencing the calls for his resignation which have been increasing in just the past few days. He certainly has not helped matters by avoiding the media and refusing to respond to the many questions being asked about the voice clip now in the public domain.
In it, two persons, who sound like senior THA officials, are heard discussing hiring persons to work to promote political propaganda.
It was worrying that rather than face the music — after all these damning allegations that have surfaced — Mr Augustine seems to be shirking his responsibilities as the highest-ranking THA official.
When he opted to enter and leave the THA chamber by the back entrance on Thursday, rather than speak with the journalists waiting outside, the Chief Secretary squandered an opportunity for the transparency and accountability that he had previously promised would be the hallmark of his administration.
Those are not the actions of a rising young politician who, in his first few months in office, was portrayed as progressive and people-focused.
On the day in December 2021 that he was sworn into office, Mr Augustine spoke about plans to establish an anti-corruption bureau following the completion of a THA internal audit.
At that time, he was quoted as saying: “I am no longer interested in us just citing the examples of corruption and making political heavy weather about it.”
The time has come to live up to that promise. With allegations of corruption hanging over his administration —yet another controversy coming on the heels of his parting of ways with Mr Duke — Mr Augustine needs to come clean and fully account to the people who voted him into office.
The silence, which he has doggedly maintained for the past few days, is not the best option in this situation. He must lead by example, demonstrating the qualities expected of a holder of high political office.
Mr Augustine owes Tobago, and Trinidad, an explanation.