INGRID MELVILLE

Part 2

THE 2023-2024 budget is being debated as I write. The budget is, properly, The Appropriation (Financial Year 2024) Bill, 2023, and becomes an act of Parliament after it is passed.

It is proposed that the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) should be granted 4.3 per cent of the national budget for the financial year 2024. This is in alignment with the 2001 Dispute Resolution Commission (DRC) report which recommended that Tobago should receive between 4.03 per cent and 6.9 per cent of the national budget per annum. It should be noted that in 2023, any percentage of the national budget up to 6.9 per cent can be granted to the THA.

While the percentage of the budget which the THA receives is outlined in the DRC recommendations, the underlying legal basis for the funding of the THA is found in the TT Constitution.

In 1996, by Act No 39 of 1996, the Constitution was amended to create the new THA. The amendment established the THA Fund in section 141D, which states:

'There is established a fund to be called 'The Tobago House of Assembly Fund' which shall consist of:

"(a) such monies as may be appropriated by Parliament for the use of the Assembly; and

"(b) such other monies as the Assembly may lawfully collect.'

Therefore, under the present law there is guaranteed funding for the THA enshrined in the Constitution, and a level of predictability of the percentage which the THA would receive in the DRC resolution.

The question we should ask ourselves is what can we expect in terms of funding for the THA (which would be renamed the Tobago Island Government) if the two bills before the Parliament are passed in their current state?

As a reminder, the bills are: The Constitution (Amendment) (Tobago Self-Government) Bill 2021, and The Tobago Island Government Bill.

The self-government bill does not provide the THA with any guaranteed funding. If passed, there will be no section in the Constitution which will provide the THA with any funding as the present section 141D would be removed. The THA will have no protected funding in the Constitution.

The other bill makes provision for a Tobago fund with a predictable level of funding in Clauses 30 and 31. Clause 30 states that Tobago will have 'for any financial year no less than 6.8 per cent of the total fund appropriated by Parliament for the financial year or such other percentage as may be determined by the Fiscal Review Committee.'

At first glance, the bill provides the THA with a higher minimum amount, but if the two bills are passed in their present format the following potential challenges are noted:

1. The Constitution will no longer enshrine or guarantee any funding for the THA.

2. The Fiscal Review Committee may determine that it will reduce the promised minimum of 6.8 per cent to the THA.

3. An act, passed by a simple majority in the Parliament, can reduce the allocation for Tobago to less than 6.8 per cent or, worse, remove it altogether.

The THA could invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court to gain an interp