Tobago Correspondent
The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) has spent $72.1 million for the February 2024 oil spill, exceeding the $50 million allocated by the Central Government, with $4.9 million in outstanding debts to clear.
This was revealed at a media conference yesterday by Finance, Trade and the Economy Secretary Petal Ann Roberts.
Roberts explained the financial strain at the time, with the THA’s fund account in a $34 million overdraft and just $2 million in its contingency account.
Central Government support was delayed, so to manage the crisis, $15 million from unspent balances was reallocated in March 2024.
She said this money came out from the unspent balances account “and this account caters for programs like CEPEP payments.”
She said the THA was left to “reprioritise our resources at the time and shift $15 million from the unspent balances account to the contingency account to treat with the emergency payments under the oil spill.
“Our contingency account right now only has about $900,000 in the event of any emergency that takes place in Tobago.”
Major payments included $15.4 million to Tiger Tanks Limited, $18.7 million to Kaizen Environmental Services, and $4.3 million to Ambipar Response for cleanup efforts. Over $29 million was used for rentals, accommodations, catering, and materials.
The remaining debts include $3.3 million owed to fisherfolk, almost $500,000 to Liquor Construction, and approximately $400,000 to MI4 Security.
Roberts said, “We usually receive our releases very late and not in accordance with the law, and therefore it is very difficult at this time to say when these payments can be made, but this responsible administration has been making payments.
“We have put ourselves in an overdraft position. We have used up all our contingency resources, and we have been reprioritising our activities to ensure that all these liabilities are taken care of.”
She said by the time the Government sent the $50 million, the THA had already spent $54.4 million on oil spill-related expenses.
Augustine said he now hoped this breakdown would not only bring clarity but also silence his opponents.
Augustine said, “You can see where we are at, what has happened, what has transpired and you can see in a transparent way that the THA is not trying to undercut anybody but has been very responsible in how it manages the oil spill clean-up activity.”
Augustine criticised the minority for accusing his administration of financial mismanagement, saying that despite the financial strain, his team did well.
