The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) owes outstanding payments to caterers under the School Feeding Programme, prompting the Government to allocate an additional $5.4 million to help clear the debt.

Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo said the current allocation is still insufficient to cover all expenses, but added that more funds may be requested if necessary.

“The allocation has proven inadequate over the years and has had to be supported by virements and transfers. The allocation is still inadequate to cover the expenditure, which is approximately $4.1 million per month, but the THA, as indicated previously, has various ways of meeting the obligations, including virements, transfers, and coming back to the Central Government.”