Minority Leader: Tobago MPs silent on $32m THA allocation

MINORITY LEADER Kelvon Morris says Tobago MPs David Thomas and Joel Sampson have been noticeably silent about the additional $32 million in funding the THA is expected to receive from central government in the mid-year review, which is being presented in the House of Representatives, Red House, Port of Spain, on June 18, at 1.30 pm.

Thomas (Tobago East) and Sampson (Tobago West) won the Tobago seats in the April 28 general election under a Tobago People's Party ticket, ending the tenures of the PNM's Ayanna Webster-Roy and Shamfa Cudjoe, who had held the seats since 2015.

“Where are the voices of the two Tobago fighters who were sent to negotiate a better deal for Tobago?” he asked sarcastically on June 17, a day after the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) of Parliament met and approved a $3.14 billion supplementation package for 28 heads of expenditure.

The THA is expected to receive $32,740,140.

Morris said the Farley Augustine-led administration had complained bitterly about the extra allocations the assembly had received from the former government to manage its affairs.

“Over the past years, there was plenty of noise whenever Tobago got extra allocations of $100 million or $50 million. The talk was always that it wasn’t enough and didn’t match the 4.03 per cent we are supposed to get under the DRC (Dispute Resolution Commission) ruling,” he said.

“Now fast-forward to this mid-year review, the national budget goes up by $3.143 billion and Tobago gets $32 million – just one per cent of that increase or put another way, a measly one per cent of every extra dollar being spent nationally.

“So I just want to ask the honourable Chief Secretary – what has changed? Especially when most of that $32 million is really just to cover arrears and emoluments from the SRC (Salaries Review Commission) report – not to support the development Tobago keeps saying it needs.”

Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Curtis Williams said the organisation welcomed the $32 million, “especially if it will be directed toward urgent developmental and infrastructural priorities.

“We know that the THA is having cash-flow issues and we will continue to advocate for a bigger fiscal package going forward,” he said.

Williams said the chamber has asked for consistent engagement between central government and the THA to ensure Tobago receives its fair and equitable share of the national budget “both in principle and in practice.”

Secretary of the Division of Finance, Trade and the Economy Petal-Ann Roberts said the $32 million allocation “was sent specifically to treat with the arrears of the increase in salary as per the latest SRC report.”

Efforts to contact the MPs via cellphone calls on June 17 were unsuccessful.