Tobago chamber of commerce: THA must address payments for contractors in budget

THE Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce is hoping that a payment plan for the island’s contractors will be revealed in Monday’s budget presentation in the Assembly Legislature, Scarborough.

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine announced at Thursday’s plenary sitting that the budget will be delivered from 10 am. The debate begins on June 29 at 10 am with Minority Leader Kelvon Morris’ official response.

According to law, the THA is required to present its draft estimates to central government by June 30 annually so that it can be included in the national budget.

The chamber's president Curtis Williams told Sunday Newsday the island’s contractors are very concerned about the payments that are still owed to them and are eagerly awaiting a resolution.

“The biggest challenge being faced by members is the lack of payment to suppliers and contractors,” he said via WhatsApp.

“Our members cannot even meet their payrolls this month and the banks are threatening to send our loans to recovery. Our members are owed from contractors who are awaiting payment from different divisions for work completed over six months to a year. So we await a payment plan from the THA.”

In a pre-recorded address, last Friday, Augustine assured that payments to contractors will start as monies are available and pending the outcome of the THA audit that was commissioned early last year.

At the plenary sitting on Thursday, Augustine announced that the audit was completed and it had been sent to the police, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Integrity Commission but not the the Prime Minister nor the PNM minority leader. Augustine recently claimed a contractor was demanding millions owed in an extortion plot linked to the leak of an audio recording of THA officials discussing a propaganda campaign.

Sources told Sunday Newsday the THA will again be requesting 6.9 per cent of the national budget in Monday’s presentation, in keeping with the Dispute Resolution Committee’s (DRCs) recommendations.

“This is what we are truly and constitutionally entitled to. Whatever the national budget is, we will demand our 6.9 per cent consistently.”

Tobago’s minimum allocation of the national budget is 4.03 per cent, as mandated by the DRC.

The source said the budget will be tailored to the meet the socio-economic challenges confronting Tobago.

“It will be a very focused and policy-deliberate response to the socio-economic challenges that face the island, inclusive of our constitutional and legislative governance framework.”

The source added it will address the “critical institutional issues” that are stymieing the island’s development.

“There will be some strong policy prescriptions for moving the island forward with the attendant financial requirements to keep the programmes afloat.”

The source added, “It will be a rich conversation, very focal, very disciplined, technically anchored and philosophically anchored on where the assembly wants to go with the island’s development.”

In fiscal 2022-2023, the THA requested an allocation of $3.97 billion from central government to manage the island’s affairs.

He said of the $3.97 billion , $3.07 billion would have been for recurrent expenditure and $900 million, development expenditure.

The Unemployment Relief Programme and Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) would have received $59.59 million and $53.17 million, respectively.

The largest sum of the recurrent expenditure estimates would have gone to the Division of Health, Wellness and Social Protection – $918.40 million.

The Division of Education, Research and Technology would have received the second highest estimate – $485.06 million.

It would have been followed by the Divisions of Infrastructure, Quarries and the Environment ($455.36 million), Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation ($255.85 million) and Food Security, Natural Resources, The Environment and Sustainable Development ($250.98 million).

In the national budget in October, Tobago actually received $2.5 billion to manage its affairs.