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Minority Leader: Tobago budget lacks pathway for growth

TOBAGO House of Assembly (THA) Minority Leader Kelvon Morris has described the $3.71 billion requested by the Assembly to manage the island’s affairs in fiscal 2025-2026 as the most “vague and vacuous statement ever to grace this House.” Morris was at the time contributing to the THA budget debate for fiscal 2025-2026 in the Assembly Legislature, Scarborough, Tobago, on June 26. On June 23, Secretary of Finance, Trade and the Economy Petal-Ann Roberts made the request indicating that of the $3.71 billion, recurrent expenditure amounted to $2.71 billion and development expenditure totalled $1 billion. She further said the estimate in expenditure for the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) amounted to $91.9 million while the estimate for the Cepep programme was $43.4 million. The total estimates of expenditure, she said were predicated on a projected national budget of $63.5 billion and a requested share of 5.9 per cent. However, Morris noted that the presentation was “a false equation, political maneuvering, arguably an attempt to mask non-performance and under-performance with grand promises and inflated headlines.” He said very sobering questions must be asked after four years under the current THA administration. “Are Tobagonians better off today than they were four years ago? Has the island progressed? Where are we in relation to the acceptable economic standards and indicators? Aren’t we going up the down escalator? From where I stand, what I’ve seen is not an evolution of good governance with appropriate accountability and transparency but rather a disturbing pattern of waste, mismanagement, indifference and inefficiency.” Morris said he understood the frustration as he too had walked the difficult road, adding that he knew what it meant to go without. He said he knew the pains of parents stretching one meal into three and the anxieties of young people desperate for opportunities along with the quiet sacrifices been made by families. “When I speak, I do so not from a place of political convenience but from a lived reality that still shades both his conscience and his commitment. I still believe in Tobago, I believe in our people, your resilience and in the ability to rise. If only we had given the right leadership, the right plan and the right heart at the helm.” The budget, he said, does not rise to that moment. “This budget lacks depth, it lacks clarity, it is limited on specifics and above all, it lacks a clear pathway for growth and prosperity for the people of this island. It is not a blueprint for progress; it is a master class in missed opportunities. Actually, it is a code blue budget, this code blue budget presented by the finance secretary of one year should really be entitled – accelerating Tobago’s economic decline, anchored in fiscal stagnation.” He said the presentation was like a “final act of desperation,” as he questioned the whereabouts of the accountability for the monies received previously. “This budget, like the ones before it, is an exercise in optics over outcome, one set of Barbies and Kens parading up and down in fancy suits doing nothing with plenty. Let it be known that the real deadline for Tobago is not June 30, it is prescribed months after December 6, 2025 when the people will have the final say on the direction of the island.” He said as the election drew near, every Tobagonian should remember that it was not just about parties, it was about Tobago’s progress. “It is about whether we remain anchored or finally begin to move forward. I say let us cut loose the anchor stagnating Tobago, let us choose accountability, let us choose vision, let us choose Tobago first.” The post Minority Leader: Tobago budget lacks pathway for growth appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.