Who is popular today?

PDP deputy political leader Farley Augustine is calling on the Joint Select Committee (JSC) to explain how they came up with the proposal to allocate a minimum of 6.8 per cent of the national budget to Tobago.
In an interview with Newsday on Monday, Augustine said the members of the JSC need to provide some clarity on the figure.
“We are wondering how the JSC arrived at 6.8 per cent. What is the justification, what is the arithmetic behind it?”
He added: “They have not been able to properly justify how they arrived at 6.8 per cent. (It) cannot do the kind of development work that is needed in Tobago; we’re talking about capital expenditure work that is needed in Tobago and so that is something that has to be revisited.”
He said Tobago is rich in natural resources and should benefit from them.
“We have to find a way to broaden Tobago’s jurisdiction to take into consideration Tobago’s waters and find a reasonable formula for the sharing of royalties from the exploration of resources found in Tobago’s waters.”
He said this was why, when he presented to the JSC last Friday, he was insistent on defining Tobago geographically.
“One, they’re giving us 6.8 per cent which they have been unable to justify or to give us a formula for how they came up with that percentage.
"Two, Tobago has to be in a position to earn its keep and earn its way and be able to pay for its development trajectory from here onwards and it cannot be Tobago just depending on a subvention from Trinidad. We have to have access to our resources – to Tobago’s resources. It is at the heart of this autonomy issue.”
Tobago West MP and JSC member Shamfa Cudjoe said recently that the Draft Tobago Island Administration Bill proposes a minimum of 6.8 per cent of the national budget with no set maximum.
She said a Fiscal Review Commission, comprising the Minister of Finance, Secretary of Finance, two members of Cabinet and a member from the Tobago Island Government, could propose an increase based on the developmental agenda on the island.
"It doesn't have to be 6.8 per cent, it could be more," she said.
Tobago currently receives 4.03 per cent based on the recommendations of the Dispute Resolutions Commission.
The JSC, chaired by Minister of Planning and Development Camille Robinson- Regis, met with Tobagonians, virtually and in person, at the Victor E Bruce Financial Complex in Scarborough for two days since Friday, getting feedback on the draft bills. The consultation was expected to end on Monday, but it was cancelled after only four people registered for the virtual session.
The post Augustine asks JSC: Why 6.8% for Tobago? appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.