TOBAGO People’s Party (TPP) political leader Farley Augustine says he will not be distracted by any foolishness as the party prepares for the April 28 general election.
He was responding to the release of a voice note on social media on April 4, which purportedly highlighted a conversation between him and UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in relation to money that the UNC had allegedly given to him ahead of the December 2021 THA election.
In the recording, two voices also discussed strategies to facilitate greater collaboration between the two political parties.
In a statement on April 5, Persad-Bissessar dismissed the voice note as fake. She also accused the PNM of using artificial intelligence to “manufacture lies, distort reality and spread propaganda in a desperate attempt to hold on to power.”
Persad-Bissessar urged the population to not be fooled by AI. She added the party was moving forward with its plans and policies and focusing on a clean campaign based on facts and its vision for TT.
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Addressing a TPP political meeting in Crown Point on April 5, Augustine said he learnt about the voice note from one of his wife’s friends early that morning.
“She said a friend called her to wake me up to listen to some crazy voice note somewhere. And as I start to play it, I said, ‘Not today, not my Sabbath.’ Ah just steups meh teeth and roll over on the next side,” he said to supporters.
Augustine, who is also the Chief Secretary, said he entered politics in 2016 and during the campaign for the 2017 THA election, “I know what it was to drive through Roxborough and see our faces plastered alongside those of Kamla Persad-Bissessar. We don’t even know who put them there.”
He also recalled that the Progressive Democratic Patriots, of which he was a member, had held a meeting in James Park, Scarborough, ahead of the January 2021 THA election.
“The next day, the whole of town plastered with posters, our faces and UNC faces.”
But now, Augustine said the “miscreants have become a little more sophisticated.
“They have access to technology now. So I know they will piece words here, piece words there and try to patch it together to form a narrative.
“But I want to warn you and to say this, for the rest of this campaign I do not care to respond to the foolishness because Tobago has serious issues and because they are short on ideas, because they fail on delivery, they must concoct whatever they think is necessary to distract you.”
He said Tobagonians were smart people.
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“This is not 20 years ago, where we are afraid of people and afraid of our names calling with people. So call my name with whoever you want. I know that I am a son of the Most High, and that’s the most important thing for me.
“And I am confident that every move I make is lawful, morally sound and in keeping with the principles of my faith.”
