FARLEY AUGUSTINE is the one who got married, but it is Watson Duke who needs a reminder that there is no time for a honeymoon when it comes to getting his affairs in order and getting down to the business of serving Tobago.

Mr Duke, political leader of the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP), has been doing a never-ending jig when it comes to relinquishing his trade unionist hat in order to comply with the legal and moral requirements of public office.

First, we were told Mr Duke would remain president of the Public Services Association (PSA). Then we were told he had given up all rights to PSA remuneration, in technical compliance with the law.

Then Mr Duke said he would spend three months relinquishing the PSA post in phases.

Then he said he would resign, but not right now: the resignation 'offer,' if accepted, would take effect from December 31.

Tobago has too many pressing issues facing it for the THA Executive Council - and the Cabinet for that matter, given the intervention of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi - to be spending so much time on this.

Mr Augustine's decision that Mr Duke, whom he has designated as the deputy chief secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), will not hold a portfolio while his PSA presidency is live does not cure the situation.

If anything, Mr Augustine's new executive council, whose members reported for duty on Monday at their respective offices, is at risk of being tainted by this mess.

Though Mr Duke may hold no portfolio, it is bad enough that he is at the table when it comes to decisions being taken by the council. He is the political leader of the party of which all the council members are a part, and is therefore in a position to exert influence on the matters they oversee, even if he holds no specific responsibility for any of them. He is, theoretically, a kind of secretary-at-large.

That does not square well with the spirit of our Constitution and our laws, which seek to demarcate clear separations between public and private officials for good reason.

Mr Augustine has thus far been stepping forward correctly, but the longer this issue drags on, the more likely it will distract from pressing matters on the agenda, such as the move by his council members to seek foreign assistance in tackling the dire covid19 situation of Tobago.

Mr Duke may have been surprised by his own victory (his approach to this issue suggests he was); but now that election results have been thrice certified in his favour, it's time for him to put his money where his mouth is and work exclusively in service of the electors of Roxborough/Argyle and of Tobago.

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