00:00The splitting duties amongst Councilors Tasha Burris and Zareisha Hackett continues to spawn questions.
00:07According to leader of the Progressive Democratic Patriots, Watson Duke,
00:11there are too many inconsistencies in the utterances from Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Farley Augustine.
00:18She got the acting from the 15th.
00:21I want Farley to tell us on what days did he meet with the carnival stakeholders
00:28and on what days he met with the festival committee stakeholders.
00:34And on what day did you appoint Zareisha Hackett?
00:37Did you appoint her retroactively?
00:39And if you did so retroactively, you would have done something illegal.
00:44Yes? Because she was not doing your work as yet.
00:47Duke believes that Hackett began acting in the position on the 18th,
00:51the date that the split was announced by Augustine in a press release,
00:55and not on the 15th, the date when Burris requested a week's leave.
01:00He notes that Burris told the House just last week that she was still the Secretary of the Division of Tourism,
01:05Culture, Antiquities and Transportation, subsequent to Augustine's announcement of the split in duties.
01:11So Farley, you could not have divided that position in writing, as you said, to both of them,
01:19telling Zareisha giving her Colossian antiquities and telling Tashia Boris you are giving her tourism and transportation.
01:32You couldn't have done that.
01:34Had you done that, both of them would have been informed.
01:37And by Thursday, by Thursday, Tashia Boris would have been seized with the information and know for a fact
01:44that she's a secretary for tourism and transportation only.
01:49Duke says while the chief secretary, based on the THA Act, can assign any role to any secretary,
01:55he cites Section 34, Subsection 2.
01:57In the exercise of their powers, members of the executive council shall be individually and collectively responsible to the assembly.
02:11They are so keen, like a good mango chow.
02:15What Farley did?
02:17In creating this appointment, he sent out something to the public on around the 18th of September,
02:22stating Zareisha is acting from the 15th of September.
02:25Nothing came to the assembly.
02:29He never reported that in the assembly.
02:31Duke says it makes the appointments wrong, as the procedure was not followed,
02:36and therefore Boris was right in her statement to the assembly that she still holds the full portfolio.
02:42Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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