Stephon Nicholas
Tobago Correspondent
The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) will make its budget request for fiscal 2027 on June 22.
Finance Secretary Petal-Ann Roberts announced the date yesterday, adding that the budget debate will be held on June 25.
Tobago received $2.96 billion in the 2025/2026 national budget last October.
Roberts said consultation among various stakeholders began on April 20 and concluded on Tuesday.
She said discussions were held with Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo last month, but she did not request a figure.
“The minister did indicate his concerns in terms of what was happening in the economy,” she said.
Other topics discussed included the expansion of the THA in preparation for constitutional autonomy, the rollout of a four-year plan for the island, the mid-year review, including $74 million for arrears for teachers and an increase in salaries, funding for the new Scarborough Secondary School and operationalisation of the new ANR Robinson International Airport.
Meanwhile, Roberts revealed the THA has transferred $164 million from recurrent expenditures to the development programme.
However, she made it clear that salaries would be unaffected, explaining that the areas where cutbacks were made included official foreign travel and office stationery.
