Shameful politics in the budget for Tobago
By Dr. Winford James
October 17, 2004
Posted: October 18, 2004
Chief Secretary London who, like all the other chief secretaries / chairman, has to depend on the discretions of the Minister of Finance in the Central Government for what Tobago will get out of the annual budget, declared that he was not distressed by the allocation for fiscal 2005. After all, Tobago had been given '80 to 90 percent' of what the THA had asked for. Negotiating with the Government had been an 'arduous' business, and if at the end of day Tobago ended up with 90% of what it wanted, there could be no reason to be distressed.
Well, I am distressed - bloody distressed. For more reasons than I care to enumerate. I am bloody distressed because the THA unanimously voted for the budget of $1.8B which the Executive Council took to the Central Government, and the Minister of Finance, PM Manning himself, saw it fit to cut it by a whopping $.8B. All the elected representatives in the THA voted for the budget, but the prime minister could say 'They could vote however they want, but Tobago can't get more than I decide it should get! I call the shots here! Take $1.023B'
I am bloody distressed because $1.023B is 3.6% of the national budget of $27.918B in a context where the Dispute Resolution Commission ruled that Tobago should get 4.03 to 6.09% of the national budget. Which, for fiscal 2005, translates into at least $1.12B or at most $1.70B (which is pretty close to the $1.8B requested). So the dispute has been settled, a victory in respect of the budgetary process has been hard-won, but Tobago gets below the lowest end of the range determined by the Commission. Thing to get vexed and rant and rave over, and the chief secretary say he ain't distressed! Thing to cause you to threaten to pull out Tobago's two seats from the government, and London say he comfortable. A serious gain has been rolled back, and the leader of Tobago says, 'No problem.'
I am bloody distressed because, despite the illegal underfunding of Tobago, the minister of finance could boast in his budget speech that there is a pleasing harmony between his administration and London's administration in Tobago, which is resulting in good things for the country. Boast! You undercut Tobago, and you turn around and say it is because both of you living in harmony. And London himself, nobody forcing him, takes the blow and says, 'I am not distressed. I got 80 to 90 per cent of what I asked for.' Lord, have mercy!
I am bloody distressed with Mr. London's quiet, behind-the-scenes, pacifist, non-confrontational politics. He disregards his historian's sense of the inevitability of exploitation of public silence, public lack of agitation, public non-assertion of strength and settles for the acquiescence and propriety of Little Brother. Little Brother must have manners and not speak against Big Brother in public. Little Brother must suck salt for the good name of the family. Look at where this pacifist absurdity has got him. Look at what can happen when you take an analogy too far.
It is all right to settle major disagreements quietly in the blood family, but major differences between political entities are best negotiated in public, which is the best forum to mobilize your people behind you to get a stubborn, blinkered government to behave.
I am bloody distressed that every time the government says that it will permit the THA to borrow it feels obliged to point out that the permission is subject to the approval of the Minister of Finance. In fact, this year, the wording is 'explicit approval'. Where is the private diplomacy in this? Where is the pacificism? Where the good will? Why between brothers is 'approval' somehow not enough?
I am bloody distressed that, with the price of oil skyrocketing to over $50 US per barrel, with a major increase in revenue, and with a whooping budget of $28B, Big Brother cannot bring himself to give Little Brother a bigger piece of the cake - cannot even give him the smallest piece arbitrated by a third party when the politics was far noisier and, you guessed it, yielded better returns, to wit, the 4.03 to 6.09 percentage allocation.
In the face of all this distress, never mind the face-saving denial from the chief secretary, Mr. Manning has the gall to say that his illegal, miserly allocation to Tobago is in keeping with his commitment to have Tobago 'catch up' with Trinidad!
Catch up, my ar...arm...foot!
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