Farley: Evaluate THA programmes for economic value

Minority member Farley Augustine is calling for programmes to spur economic growth, as announced in the Tobago House of Assembly’s 2018/2019 budget, to be evaluated and monitored to for its value to economy.

In his contribution to the debate on the THA’s 2018-2019 budget proposals last Thursday at the Assembly Legislature Chamber in Scarborough, Augustine said assessment of these programmes were crucial “so as to ensure that we are not declining while we are spending millions, billions even, if we count all the years on these so-called incentives.”

Criticising the current Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) People’s National Movement (PNM) -led administration to accept stewardship over Tobago for the last 17 years, he said the reality was the PNM was in charge of Tobago for these years and responsible for thedismal state of the economy.

“There is evidently a reluctance to take ownership and stewardship for all 17 years of the PNM-led THA. I understand why they would be reluctant… because they pride themselves in ensuring that they celebrate their political party. In fact, sometimes they celebrate their political party over the country and over this island.

“But if you take the reality that this Executive Council is just continuing after 16 years of PNM stewardship, we have to ask the question, who is responsible for there still be late pay on the island?

“Who is responsible for our teachers still not been satisfied and not getting their increments? … Who is responsible for our mothers still crying and taking out lawsuits because their new-born babies are dying? Who is responsible for the inter-island transport woes?

“When we ask ourselves all of those questions and we think about the economic challenges that Tobago is now facing and we think about the fact that the Chief Secretary is boldly saying that there is a need for metanoia, then we must be willing to admit that it is not Watson (Minority Leader) that is responsible for that, but it is rather 17 years of PNM running Tobago,” he said.

Saying that metanoia was most desperately needed within the Executive Council and the PNM camp, Augustine noted that pledges and projects mentioned by speakers from the Executive Council date back over 17 years.

“If you think about how long we have been working on the Adventure Mall, then we should not be celebrating, we should have completed that a long time ago. If we think about the Administrative Complex in Roxborough, another example, a billboard was up for many years till the billboard faded and another one was changed. Guess what, we cannot begin to trumpet that as our biggest achievement, without trumpeting the fact that this is a long-held promise that is only now materialising,” he said.

Recalling that in last year’s fiscal package, Tobago was told to expect the global economy to grow, that the Trinidad and Tobago economy will grow, and in natural progression, so too will the Tobago economy, Augustine said while countries were showing growth, that was not happening for the island.

“…in April, the Minister of Finance, Mr (Colm) Imbert spoke to growth being anywhere between 1.5 per cent and 1.8 per cent, and although there is a linear relationship between our revenues and funding from the central government, we are not seeing a similar linearity in growth in economies. Simply put, the national economy growing doesn’t necessarily result in the Tobago economy growing and vice versa,” he said.

Augustine contended that Tobago has the potential to outgrow Trinidad and Tobago, and that “Tobago can lead the way when it comes to economic reform.”

“Let us rally together, let us try our very best to see how we can alleviate some of the pain that Tobagonians are feeling now. There are real implications to a decline in our economy and I pray God that soon we would get over this hurdle,” Augustine said.