Elizabeth Gonzales
Tobago Correspondent
Just days before the 2025 budget presentation, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine laid a motion at yesterday’s Tobago House of Assembly (THA) plenary sitting, demanding at least 5.8 per cent of the fiscal package.
Noting a long history of underfunding, with Tobago receiving only about three per cent of the national budget from 1980 to 1996, he said, ”I came to the conclusion that this House needed to assemble before the national budget and to essentially call on the Minister of Finance to allocate to the THA no less than 5.8 per cent of the national budget to meet Tobago’s urgent developmental priorities and to address historical underfunding of Tobago, so that we are able to grow at a pace that is equitable and equal to our friends and family in Trinidad.”
The allocation increased slightly to 3.3 per cent between 1996 and 2000 and the recommended range of 4.03-6.9 per cent was proposed by the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) in 2001.
“Even after an allocation is announced on Monday, they will come on the backend and still not send all of the money,” Augustine said.
“The struggle by the Tobago House of Assembly for a reasonable, fair, and just share of the national budget is not a new struggle. In fact, from its inception, one of the most fundamental challenges affecting the THA has been the issue of insufficient budgetary resources from the central government to fund Tobago’s development.”
He said since the DRC ruling, Tobago has typically received around 4.3 per cent of the national budget, meaning the THA has been denied about $28.5 billion compared to what the DRC recommended.
“Regardless of which administration is in power at the level of the THA and which administration is in power at the level of the central government, Tobago’s share of the national budget remains largely unchanged. The allocations to the THA have been averaging 4.3 per cent, when we should be receiving up to 6.9 per cent,” Augustine said
“And you have to threaten to go to court, make noise with them and then you get the sheepish grin of the minister and no action. Wickedness in high places.”
He said limited funding has made it difficult for Tobago to plan and develop effectively.
This year, the THA is asking for $3.956 billion, with recurrent expenditure at $2.81 billion, $1.002 billion for development program expenditure, $91.9 million for the URP and $43.8 million for CEPEP.
Last November, the assembly passed a motion to seek legal redress against what it described as the central government’s mishandling of Tobago’s finances.
Augustine specifically accused the Ministry of Finance of withholding and delaying disbursements to the THA, claiming a financial conspiracy that has hindered Tobago’s development.
In response, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said THA had received more funds, and faster, since the new administration took over in December 2021. He said funding was allocated in larger blocks compared to the previous PNM-led administration and the THA even requested and received two months’ subvention in advance.
Imbert said the THA received $2.26 billion in 2018, increasing steadily to $2.57 billion in 2023 and Tobago had seen an overall increase in funds, with $2.9 billion invested between 2019 and 2023, covering essential services, major development projects and social programmes.