LESS than 24 hours after THA secretary Clarence Jacob came under heavy criticism for comments on distributing “hundreds” of food cards, the PNM candidate for Bon Accord/Crown Point has admitted to signing blank food card forms, to expedite the process.
The issue of food cards has been a hot topic on the political platform in Tobago, even prior to the general election in August last year.
The Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) has accused the PNM of using food cards to buy votes.
PDP deputy Dr Faith BYisrael over the weekend posted a food card form on Facebook with no other information on the document other than Jacob's signature.
An Auditor General's report, which covered October 2019 to September 2020, raised serious concerns over the management of food cards, including lapses in key areas to provide checks and balances in the programme.
In an interview with Newsday on Monday, Jacob admitted that the signature affixed to the document was his. But he insisted that he has documentation and evidence to prove the right process was followed.“Once you comfortable in your heart what you’re doing is right, you don’t have to feel no how," he said.
"That is the official process, and what I realised is some people put stamps and if you watch carefully, you will see that it was prepared by me. I come as the authorised person for my office to give the authorisation for sending the cards (to) Victor E Bruce (Complex) (Division of Finance and the Economy).
"It comes easy like this, if I am not around and somebody comes to apply for a food card and there are no signatures on the application form, then the food cards will not be processed."
He said after putting his signature on the blank form his staff would assist those interested in filling out the application.
Jacob: PDP does the same thing
Jacob said this is another “useless” attempt to assassinate his character to hamper his chances before the polls on December 6. He alleged a PDP assemblyman did the same thing.
Responding to the claim, BYisrael said, “We do not sign blank forms. Our forms are submitted to the Division of Finance and the division directly contacts the applicants and the division deals with them. We don’t collect or distribute…It’s clear the process is not the same for us.”Jacob does not believe the issue will affect his chances in the election.
"People are shifting it to make it look like some corrupt activity...
"People know we are transparent and honest, and I have no fear this would cause any kind of disruption. The process is a transparent process. There is no bobol involved. “I don’t see anything wrong with assisting as many people as possible in this pandemic.” Contacted on the policy and procedure for completing a THA food card application, processing the application and the requirements for approval, Finance Secretary Joel Jack asked for the request to be e-mailed.
No response was received up to press time on Monday.Addressing the iss
