PM: 8% of budget for THA would raise eyebrows

The Prime Minister has described the Joint Select Committee’s (JSC’s) proposal to give Tobago 6.8 per cent of the national budget as a significant step, but warned that it would be difficult to get opposing parliamentarians to agree to it.

He also questioned what was the basis for requests for the island to receive eight per cent of the budget, given the fact that the island currently receives about 4.75 per cent.

The issue was a major talking point during the JSC’s public consultations on the draft Tobago Self-Government Bill 2020 and Tobago Island Administration Bill 2021 in Tobago on April 30 and May 1. A third consultation was held in Trinidad on May 3.

The bills are meant to give Tobago greater autonomy.

At the Tobago consultations, several speakers, including PNM Tobago Council political leader Tracy Davidson-Celestine and Tobago Youth Council president Janae Campbell, felt the island should at least be given an eight per cent allocation.

Tobago’s minimum allocation is 4.03 per cent as directed by the Dispute Resolution Commission.

But speaking in a television interview in Tobago on Wednesday, Dr Rowley said that getting the Parliament to even agree on a 6.8 per cent allocation when the bills are debated would be difficult.

“I think that that (proposal) is a good, significant move for Tobago. But, I don’t know that everybody in Trinidad thinks so,” Rowley said.

He warned about a possible push back from MPs if a request for eight per cent reaches Parliament.

“Let’s face it – what is the basis for that?”

He noted Tobago’s population is only about four per cent of the national population.

“So, if you are asking from a population standpoint – and this is the point of view of the Trinidad MPs and the Trinidad people – if, let’s say you want to be even-handed across the country and you are looking for a yardstick to apportion and you say let’s look at the population – four per cent of the population demanding eight per cent of the budget? Some questions will arise there.”

He added: “Bear in mind that you are taking this to a Parliament where the majority of the people are not Tobagonians.

“Thirty-nine people in that Parliament have constituents who will have an issue with that. So, you have to come to a place where they can be comfortable that what they are voting on for Tobago is acceptable to their own constituents.”

Rowley said there may be circumstances where a 6.8 per cent allocation would be warranted.

“There could be, depending on what is happening in the country, there could be times and instances when you go beyond that. What you are establishing here is a floor, not a ceiling.”

The PNM controls 22 seats in the Parliament while the UNC has 19.