00:00Allow me to say that the Toberu Carnival 2024 deserves a round of applause.
00:11Personally, I would have attended a few events and I must say it was something that we can boast about.
00:24Those were good events.
00:27Mr. Duke said he attended Juve last Saturday and Pritimas on Sunday, observing the festivities and the streets of Tobago.
00:36I took a journey into Scarborough on the Saturday and the Sunday and I observed.
00:46And what I saw was a celebration on the streets.
00:52So, yes, Tobago Carnival was successful in a number of ways.
01:00Mr. Duke is calling for a breakdown on how the $9 million budget was spent by the THC.
01:07Let's take the lowest figure and let's take a median figure.
01:11$1,000 THC by 30,000 visitors to the island would redound to Tobago being $30 million richer.
01:26Therefore, the investment of $9 million THC into the carnival would have made appropriate sense.
01:37We need to dissect this thing and we need to look at this thing properly.
01:41Because governance is not about skinning your teeth and waving your flag and saying nice.
01:46It's about reporting to the people of Tobago how their monies were spent.
01:53And I'm yet to see a proper report from the Secretary of Tourism or the Chief Secretary.
02:00Duke says the $9 million spent on Tobago's October Carnival by the THC could have been put to better use.
02:08Let's look at Scarborough Hospital.
02:12That $9 million could have been used for buying life-saving drugs.
02:20There are people who go to the hospital and can't even get a Panadol, a Panadol or pain-relieving medication.
02:29That's a serious issue for Tobagoans.
02:33Also, we look at the OGYN department where we have had for this year a level of unprecedented stillbirths, infant mortality and maternal mortality.
02:51That is mothers who have died giving birth to children.
02:54We have an unprecedented spike in it this year.
02:57Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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