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The Tobago House of Assembly is preparing for the presentation of its annual Budget in June.

On June 23, 2025, Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Secretary of Finance Petal-Ann Roberts requested $3.71 billion of the Central Government,

Tobago received a $3.72 billion allocation to manage its affairs in fiscal 2026 when the national budget was read on October 13th last year.

More from Elizabeth Williams.
Transcript
00:00Obviously if the cost of living goes up, we'll have to ask for more money because we are really here
00:05to take care of an economy.
00:06So if the fallout or the impact of the war causes an increase in energy, it will automatically have a
00:16spin-off effect on all economies.
00:18The finance secretary said this year's budget would be one focused on the needs of typical unions.
00:24Especially the smaller ones that are dependent on imports and dependent on the first world countries.
00:32So I expect perhaps we'll ask some more. We don't know what we're going to get.
00:36But I will prepare a budget that is reflective of the needs of the people of Tobago.
00:42Mrs. Roberts remains confident Tobago would get what Tobago requests of Finance Minister Devindranath Tanku.
00:50You will be confident that Tobago will get what Tobago wants, especially under this UNC government?
00:57More or less. More or less.
01:01Liz, let me just say, last year I had a conversation with Minister Tanku one-on-one and it was
01:08a minimum of 5%.
01:09It was a difficult decision for the government to make.
01:14One of the things that I pointed to Minister Tanku is the development deficit.
01:19Where we are compared to the entire country, Trinidad and Tobago.
01:24If you look at Trinidad's development versus Tobago, that is one of the things I've asked the Minister to look
01:31at when making the decision.
01:32And the needs of Tobago.
01:35And they took it into consideration, thankfully.
01:38And we look forward to the same kind of conversation and the same kind of decisions and actions going forward
01:44from the government.
01:45She said meetings with stakeholders will commence from Monday until May 5th.
01:52There would be an online platform where suggestions can be posted.
01:57Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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