Straughn: Barbados to stay in good graces with creditor

The Lower House yesterday approved a $3.4 million supplemental to the 2020-2021 Estimates for the Ministry of Tourism, part of which will go to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to prevent Caves of Barbados from defaulting on a loan to the institution.

This was revealed Tuesday by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn as he introduced the supplemental resolution during the post-lunch session of debate in the House of Assembly.

Straughn, who is also Member of Parliament for Christ Church East Central, said Caves of Barbados suffered a major financial hit, with revenue drying up since March when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and resulted in an end to cruise business and a near halt to international air travel.

He told the House of Assembly that the CDB loan payments were still due and Government was making the money available to Caves of Barbados – which operates the island’s premier tourist attraction, Harrison’s Cave – to service its debts to the regional institution.

Straughn said that having successfully restructured its debt to local and international creditors, Government needed to maintain its good name and therefore would make the payments for October 2020 and January 2021 to prevent the loan from going into default.

He also disclosed that Government would also be making $600 000 available to the newly formed Barbados Aircraft & Aviation Services Ltd to help expand regional travel into Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

Meantime, Minister of Energy and Small Business and MP for St James Central, Kerrie Symmonds, sought to make it clear that the Jamaican company which won the bid to manage Caves of Barbados would not own the tourism site in St Thomas.

It was announced last week that nature adventure tour company, Chukka Caribbean Adventures (Barbados) Ltd would manage the day to day operations of Harrison’s Cave from November 1.

Symmonds said Chukka had delivered a winning bid with its all-encompassing proposal to have Harrison’s Cave developed as an all-day attraction rather than a stop along the way to other attractions on the island.

Straughn added that the Government had been very transparent in the process and Chukka had won a management contract and not a deal to take ownership of Caves of Barbados. (IMC1)