Farley: Give THA no less than 5.8% of budget pie

WITH the national budget mere days away, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine is calling on Minister of Finance Colm Imbert to allocate no less than the recommended 5.8 per cent to the Assembly to ensure Tobago has adequate funding for its critical development priorities.

In tabling a motion at the 33rd sitting of the THA's 2021-2025 session, on September 26, at the Assembly Legislature in Scarborough, Augustine said the Assembly must insist that central government urgently address the historical under-funding of Tobago by increasing its budgetary allocation.

He told the Assembly: “Between 2001 when the DRC (Dispute Resolution Committee) kicked in and 2004, the average is at 4.3 per cent.”

He said each central government’s refusal to allocate closer to 6.9 per cent of the national budget to the THA had cost Tobago over $30.5 billion since 2001. He said having the same political party governing both the THA and central government has never benefited Tobago.

“Their handlers love to tell Tobagonians, if there is PNM in Tobago and PNM in Trinidad, that somehow they will get more, trying to tap into the notion that if you have a big brother in the mango tree, you don’t have to pelt mango. But it is clear that either those they call their brothers and sisters in Trinidad are really not their family at all, or they in Tobago are bastard children,” Augustine said.

He said even when the THA sought additional funding to complete projects, it has been blocked. He cited as an example, the THA being prevented from securing a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) for construction of the Scarborough Secondary School.

“The minister of finance then indicated that the smart school as recommended by the Caribbean Development Bank is too costly and has pledged to provide resources from central government. With that, we are doing our part preparing the tender, preparing the lands and everything and I am not 100 per cent confident that that promise would materialise.”

He pointed to several instances where the THA was awaiting loans and grants from international funding agencies and noted that the process is being delayed by the line ministry in central government.

He also refuted claims that new self governance legislation is needed for Tobago to receive more funding, adding that central government already has the power to allocate more, but is refusing to do so.

“The same people who claim to love Tobago have the legal wherewithal to give us 6.8 (per cent) right now without a single bill being passed. So if they did really love Tobago, they would have give it to we.”

Tobago’s current request includes a recurrent expenditure of $2.81 billion, $1.002 billion for development programme expenditure, $91.9 million for URP and $43.8 million for CEPEP.

In the last fiscal year, the Assembly requested $4.54 billion but received $2.585 billion – with $2.298 billion allocated for recurrent expenditure, $216 million for development programme expenditure, and $18 million for URP.