Standing Finance Committee to consider $2.3b budget increase

THE Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives will be asked to consider an increase of $2,328,099,600 to the 2023/2024 budget when it meets at the Red House, Port of Spain on June 3 from 1.30 pm.

Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis announced the date of this meeting in the House on May 24.

Among the major supplementations which the committee will consider are $570,900,000; $155,677,500 ; $527, 800,000; $495, 286, 000 and $144,200,000 for the Energy, Works and Transport, Public Utilities, Health and Education Ministries respectively.

A $50 million increase in funding for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) will also be considered by the committee.

At a Conversations with the Prime Minister forum in Scarborough, Tobago on May 23, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said Tobago always benefits under PNM governments, whether or not the party also controls the THA.

Imbert said, "The most amount of money released to the THA between 2016 and 2021 was $2,578,000 released in 2023 to this assembly."

But this was not all.

Imbert said Government had engaged in considerable expenditure in Tobago, through several state agencies, to benefit Tobagonians.

"Over the period 2019-2023, central government spent a total of $2.9 billion in Tobago, in addition to the regular subventions that we are talking about. I have a complete list."

Increased supplementations to be considered by Standing Finance Committee on June 3:

• Service Commissions $4,140,000
• Tobago House of Assembly $50,000,000
• Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs $124,300,000
• Education Ministry $144,200,000
• Labour Ministry $130,538,600
• Public Utilities Ministry $527,800,000
• Energy Ministry $570,900,000
• Rural Development and Local Govt Ministry $95,027,500
• Works and Transport Ministry $155,677,000
• Foreign and Caricom Affairs Ministry $9,182,500
• Tourism, Culture and the Arts Ministry $21,048,000