Probe underway into abuse of disaster assistance programme

CHIEF Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Orville London on Thursday acknowledged that abuse of the THA’s disaster assistance programme by unscrupulous persons was a real issue and promised to have the matter thoroughly investigated. London was speaking against the backdrop of more than 50 bogus claims filed to NEMA in Tobago in the wake of the tail-end lashing in Tobago of Hurricane Ivan. London also made these comments in light of reports that people, through false representation, were benefiting from the assistance provided by the Assembly to persons who suffered losses during the recent rainstorm and ensuing landslides in north-east Tobago.

“Unfortunately that is a real issue,” London stated during Thursday’s post-executive council meeting press briefing. “In the initial stage these individuals would have an opportunity to finesse the system because your focus is really on ensuring nobody is devastated and therefore you tend to err on the side of generosity,” the THA Chief Secretary added. He said as the situation became clearer, the checks and balances would have been put in. “I am very surprised that there would still be individuals in that category,” he told Newsday. “There would have been individuals, as I said, who would have gotten various things maybe undeservedly but I mean, personally I prefer, you know, two or three people finesse the system in the earlies rather than one or two people are disadvantaged.”

He stressed that that was the chance one had to take. “But I will definitely check, because I know that there are checks and balances that NEMA, Social Services, all the organisations responsible for disseminating food supplies,  have established guidelines by which they operate. “And therefore if people get away with what I might call nefarious practices for an indefinite period, then something is wrong with the system,” he declared. He stressed that the Assembly’s primary responsibility was to ensure that Tobagonians were not too seriously devastated by the natural disasters which recently befell the island. He said Tobagonians must understand that, “it is our money, it is taxpayers’ money being spent and every cent spent on somebody who is undeserving is one cent less to spend for someone more deserving.” “Unfortunately we do have human beings like that and I really hope not too many,” London said.