Minority Leader in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Ashworth Jack believes that the 2011–2012 budget statement delivered by Finance and Enterprise Development Secretary Anselm London was below acceptable standards. During his response in the budget debate at the Assembly's chamber yesterday, Jack said the $3.9 billion budget statement was packed with inaccuracies. "Madam Presiding Officer, can we accept or even treat with what was presented under the title Budget Statement for Financial year 2012, Protecting Tobago's Heritage, as a budget statement?
If we are to genuinely measure the mountain of misinformation and data inaccuracies that were presented here a few days ago against the main tenants of what constitutes a budget, the presentation was below standard...the secretary's presentation would have been graded an F," Jack said. Jack claimed London was not honest with the house with respect to the future of tourism on the island.
Jack predicted doom and gloom for tourism in Tobago, noting that Tobago's tourism sector was in trouble.
"The calculation he gives the percentage decline at 39.15 per cent which works out to an average annual decline of approximately 20 per cent but you know what Madam Presiding Officer, our very bright and honest secretary was very careful in leaving out these percentages, because they record 20 per cent annual decline over the last two years (he) is telling Tobagonians that in the next three years at this rate there will be no tourists in Tobago. "Tobago now faces a clear and present threat of having its most important source of economic livelihood wiped out due to the inability of this current administration," he said.
Jack said steps now being taken by the Assembly to increase tourism on the island were ten years too late. He stressed that something must be wrong in Tobago, because while Tobago recorded a decline, other Caribbean islands record increases. "I have good reasons to say this: that the only intention was to hide their incompetence because the Tobago tourism sector is declining while a number of Caribbean countries are recording significant growths over the same period. For instance, Anguilla's growth was 7.1 per cent in 2010; the Bahamas by 3.1 per cent; Barbados by 2.6 per cent; Jamaica 4.9 per cent and St. Lucia 9.9 per cent," Jack added.