Chief Sec: Private sector to get contracts, THA will pay later

CHIEF SECRETARY Farley Augustine has said the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) will be relying on public-private partnerships to continue developing the island.

At the THA's Mandate Monday briefing, Augustine said the administration is constrained by the limited resources from the national budget. Nonetheless, he said the THA will look at creative ways to fulfil its mandate.

The assembly received $2.5 billion for the 2022/2023 fiscal year, 4.3 per cent of the total national budget. It wanted $3.97 billion.

Augustine said the THA will utilise the design-build-finance procurement model.

"Design-build-finance means we are asking contractors to come with their own private money up front, do the work, and the THA takes its time to pay them back – not a case where you come with your money up front and demand your money two months after completion. No, the THA takes a long while, as agreed per contract.

"We appreciate, given the monies we have, we cannot complete all the infrastructural works on time."

Augustine said tackling coastal erosion is one of the main priorities, including near the Scarborough Secondary School and in Lambeau.

However, he pointed out that a recent estimate by the Caribbean Development Bank projected that work to cost almost $1 billion.

"Where we getting that money from? Therefore, to fund public projects we will be calling on the private sector to front the investment and be paid over a long period of time. That will mean, like with any good hire purchase, the THA will eventually pay more.

"But we are left with no choice, if all we have for development financial for the island is $300 million at best."

He said the coastal protection projects will include economic stimulators such as boardwalks, to allow residents to earn income

He said the public does not want excuses "when their house washing away, when their village washing away and the place flooding, and I am coming to tell them. 'This is all the money we have, we cyah do anything else.' As far as they concerned, there is a THA; we have to find a way to get the work done."

He explained, "We are not allowed to take loans just so, but we are allowed to approach contractors using this mechanism, which means we could stretch the payments out and pay as we have money."

He made it clear that these arrangements must be "done properly and not in the ad-hoc, hand-selected way we saw last year in the lead-up to the THA election."

Augustine has been critical of the previous PNM administration's handling of road paving and other contracts. He claims some select contractors were given multi-million-dollar contracts without the proper channels being followed.

PNM political leader Ancil Dennis has fired back, accusing Augustine of hypocrisy. He said the PDP administration was doing worse than what it is accusing the PNM of, and a few contractors from central and south Trinidad are being favoured over Tobago contractors. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley echoed the criticism of Augustine at a PNM meeting in Diego Martin on Friday.

Augustine has denied favouring Trinidadian contractors and claimed Dr Rowley was spewing covert racist rhetoric.

On Monday, Augustine said Tobago's development was ignored under the PNM, while skyscrapers, waterfronts and parkades were being built in Trinidad.

"We want the island's development to take on a new look," he said as he urged Tobagonians to dream big. "Granted, I don't think Tobago should look like Miami or New York –that's not the goal."

He said Tobago's best asset remains its natural environment.