Duke, Saunders cross swords over revenue authority

Duke in turn denounced the document as “fictitious” and boasted of his achievements for PSA workers.

At Port-of-Spain City Hall Saunders held a news briefing as head of the United Public Officers team he will lead into the upcoming PSA election where he will aim to unseat Duke. Also present were candidates for first vice president Robert Dean and second vice president Harold Murray.

Saunders asked PSA members if they could vote for a leader who has allegedly lost the respect and trust of the union membership. He promised his group would not practice the “one mannism” that he accused Duke of practising, but would instead practice transparency, accountability, honesty, justice, integrity and democracy.

Saunders cited an alleged 2010 MOA allegedly acknowledged by the signatures of Duke and the then ministry permanent secretary Vishnu Dhanpaul.

Saunders was condemnatory of a phrase in the MOA that allegedly said the TT Revenue Authority Company Limited will supply Government and the PSA with the employment strategy to staff the TTRA. The alleged letter said both parties will discuss the voluntary separation of employment plan while negotiations will be held between the PSA and the chief personnel officer (CPO).

However Duke, in a message posted on Facebook yesterday, denied anything was amiss.

“I want to denounce the fictitious document that is now circulating on social media,” he said.

“It will take more than those fictitious documents to unseat Watson Duke and the Game Changers. We have been serving the public officers for eight years straight. During that time we have received 40 per cent. Ten thousand persons have been made permanent.

We have defended over 5,000 jobs at WASA, Board of Inland Revenue, Customs, the list is long.”