Members of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Executive Council are on retreat at the Manta Lodge Hotel, in Speyside from today to reprioritise its budget for the coming fiscal year based on the $2.58 allocation from the Central Government.
In June the THA had requested around $5 billion to handle its affairs. However, Finance Minister Colm Imbert allocated a total of $2.585 billion, with $2.298 billion allocated for recurrent expenditure, $216 million for development programme expenditure, and $18 million for the URP (Unemployment Relief Programme).
Speaking at an Executive Council town hall meeting in Bethel on Tuesday Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said his administration will make the necessary adjustments to get the best out of the resources at their disposal.
He said, “The process will be two-fold. So, in the first instances the secretaries and assistant secretaries will sit and reprioritise policy wise so that we know what are the areas of target for this fiscal based on the monies we do have and that will be telegraphed to you sometime on Thursday via a press conference."
He said on November 15 the executive will then meet with all administrators to assess priority projects for 2024.
Augustine added: “We will sit and not just have the priorities in so far policy directives for the year but we align actual dollars and cents to the project. The secretaries, assistant secretaries, administrators and accounting staff could leave that meeting and just run with the project.”
He said clearing backpay for public servants is on the front burner.
“I am advised some divisions done calculate up their monies already in terms of what has to happen for back pay and increases. And, I have advised the Chief Administrator as for the divisions as fast as they are ready let us go and make the necessary payments available Christmas or no Christmas. So, we are not waiting till next year," Augustine said.
