Youths urge budget boost for Tobago

CARICOM Youth Ambassador and former national youth parliamentarian Luke James-Trim said Tobago has been continuously subjected to insufficient funding. The comment was made at the Youth in Review pre-budget panel discussion hosted by independent senator Sunity Maharaj at the Parliament, Port of Spain on September 27.

The THA has requested 5.8 per cent of the projected $65.8 billion national budget for fiscal 2024/2025.

In 2000 the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) recommended Tobago receive between 4.03 to 6.9 per cent of the national budget. The recommendation was based, James-Trim said, on the size of Tobago’s population in relation to the national population.

During the 33rd sitting of the THA’s 2021-2025 session, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said the request for a 5.8 percent allocation from the national budget is aimed at addressing the island''s historical underfunding and supporting critical development projects in Tobago. This request comes after years of receiving an average of just 4.3 per cent.

James-Trim said, at the time, the 4.3 per cent allocation represented Tobago’s percentage of the national population, yet the population grew from 4.58 per cent in 2011 to 5.05 per cent in 2022. He called for an urgent review of the budget allocation formula as no adjustments have been made since the DRC’s recommendations.

Former national youth parliamentarians Samantha Rampersad, Karina Nanan, Khaleem Ali and Amaris Skeete further contributed to the discussion of youths' role in the budget.

Ali said in addition to various representations of allocations, a cultural shift is needed in the way in which youths are socialised in institutional settings. He said the incorporation of entrepreneurial skills into existing educational curriculum would allow youths from a young age to develop financial literacy that will later allow for the understanding of national budgets and their role in the process.

Rampersad said despite information being readily available and accessible in the era of technology, the distribution methods inclusive of style and language are also important to youths understanding their role. Nanan added that reshaping the conversation would also assist those who are on the margins of society.

Ali said ageism is a contributing factor as both issues and contributions brought forward by the youths are ignored.

Maharaj said the youths are needed to bring a different perspective apart from technocrats. She emphasised youth discussions serving as a critical platform for young voices to engage in national budgetary processes and proposed the question of youth mobilisation and empowerment to reduce the alienation of youths.

The panellists agreed that the budget should provide more support to youth organisations.