Tobago Begs For Money.

THA Chief Secretary, Orville London

Release the 100 million that was allocated for the Health Sector, is the cry of THA Chief Secretary Orville London. In what can be a last attempt, the Chief Secretary has called on the new Minister of Finance Larry Howai to indicate when and if the funds would be release to Tobago.

The THA indicated that the allocation was approved to fund the completion of the new Scarborough General Hospital which was scheduled to be fully commissioned in September.

This has been another attempt amid futile attempts by London as well Finance and Enterprise Development Secretary Dr Anselm London and Secretary of Health and Social Services Claudia Groome-Duke in an effort to get the money released.

During the first phase of the commissioning of the hospital, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had indicated that her People's Partnership Government would provide the resources needed to have the it (Hospital) fully commissioned by September. However, with just mere few months to the end of the fiscal year, the possibility of THA receiving this fund looks as an every increasing impossibility. 

"Chief Secretary London and Dr London have both insisted that if the $100 million was not received within the fiscal year, the Central Government will be in breach of the THA Act and the Dispute Resolution Commission's DRC) ruling that the THA must receive between 4.03 per cent and 6.9 per cent of the national budget. The parliamentary allocation for the THA in fiscal 2012 was $3.1 billion," the release added. 

The questions to be answered are what is the London administration going to do with the monies given that they only have few months to spend it?  Is the PP Government starving the THA from legitimate funds as they did to the Hochoy led Administration in a bid to have an advantage in the January Election? Thus, the motive for the release or a stay in the release must be interrogated and the answers must be forthcoming. Moreover, the claim of a breach of the THA act and the Dispute Resolution Commission (DRC) sounds plausibly, and as such the PP government should avoid this at all cost, as this action could set a dangerous precedence.