Tobago coastline, shown as geographic context for this report. Photo: Wendi Wells / Unsplash, published December 16, 2023; capture date not specified. This is not a photograph of the November 2026 finance event. Photo source · Unsplash Licence.
By Tito Baron Media News Desk
Tobago’s Finance Secretary Petal-Ann Roberts has called on public officers to manage taxpayers’ money carefully, pairing gratitude for the island’s approximately TT$2.7 billion budget allocation with an appeal for responsible financial administration.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service at the Victor E. Bruce Financial Complex on Tuesday, November 10, Roberts said she was choosing gratitude despite earlier disappointment over funding for fiscal 2027, TTT News reported. She placed her remarks against a difficult international economic backdrop.
Her message to staff emphasised diligence, productivity, integrity, fairness and accurate reporting. She urged responsible management of public resources, making the administration of the funds a central part of the discussion.
Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and members of the Tobago House of Assembly Executive Council attended the service, which formed part of Finance Month activities.
The allocation remains a subject of debate because the figures being discussed describe different funding commitments. In his October 12 budget presentation, Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo announced TT$2.756 billion for the THA, or 4.35 per cent of the national budget.
He also identified TT$716.5 million in spending by central-government ministries on services and projects in Tobago. Together, those announced amounts came to approximately TT$3.473 billion, but the central-government component is separate from money allocated directly to the Assembly.
Parliament’s fiscal 2027 guide for Head 15 lists a THA total of TT$2,738,493,500, comprising TT$2,571,633,500 in recurrent expenditure and TT$166,860,000 in development expenditure. That published figure differs from the TT$2.756 billion announced in the budget presentation; the two should not be treated as identical totals.
Tobago West MP Joel Sampson has also distinguished central-ministry spending from the Assembly’s allocation. In comments reported by the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, he pointed to the importance of roads, schools, healthcare and economic diversification while indicating a willingness to work with the Government.
An allocation sets out planned public expenditure; it does not by itself establish that every dollar has been transferred or spent. Roberts’ latest remarks focused on how public officers handle the resources available to them as the wider funding debate continues.
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