Thorne calls on Govt to ‘justify’ spending at Oistins for World Cup

eader of the Opposition Ralph Thorne has called on the government to justify the almost $5 million allocated to Oistins for what he described as “cosmetic work” ahead of the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup.

Chairman of the National Organising Committee Ambassador Noel Lynch recently revealed that $4.7 million is being spent on the iconic Oistins Bay Garden to ensure small business owners benefit from the upcoming global event. But Thorne told the Lower House on Tuesday that while some of the vendors and operators at the popular entertainment hub welcomed the upgrade, “some of them do not believe that $5 million will be spent on Oistins”.

In his contribution to the debate on the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies Bill and the Visiting Police Forces ICC Cricket World Cup Bill, he said he had an opportunity to observe the work that is being done and he is “not impressed”.

“I saw scaffolding, I saw painters on the weekend, I saw men removing sheets of wood from the front of some of the kiosks. I was impressed by the lighting because I have told them for a long time to improve the lighting up there . . . except I am not impressed that this work is costing $5 million,” Thorne said.

The Christ Church South MP charged that the government “is guilty of not doing proper accounting”.

“You cannot look at Oistins, you cannot visually look at it and take out $5 million. How do you do that with taxpayers’ money? I’ll be honest here. I did not speak to all [the vendors] but some to whom I spoke and some visitors to that establishment do not believe that it will cost $5 million to do what the government says it’s doing. And if that is the case, and if it is related to World Cup spending – and it must be since it is coming out to the ambassador’s coffers, the $50 million – justify it, justify it,” he insisted.

Thorney pointed out that as opposition leader, the laws have appointed him as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and the government will have to account for the money.

“I am in the course of having this Parliament establish the Public Accounts Committee, and I said it publicly, and I would say to my colleagues here, start putting your house in order! Start to put your house in order,” he declared. “I repeat, the people of this country are entitled to proper accounting, they are entitled to proper accounting and that $5 million that has been disclosed to the public of Barbados, rest assured it will come under scrutiny . . . . And if you are not afraid of the Public Accounts Committee, please be afraid of the Auditor-General.

“The squandermania that is occurring in government that has now reached World Cup spending is under the scrutiny of the people of this country,” he added.

In response, Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr William Duguid reminded Thorne that in March of 2018, the then Democratic Labour Party administration and Inter-American Development Bank entered into a loan agreement for US$20 million (BDS$40 million) for the financing of the National Tourism Programme, and that was being tapped into to do the Oistins work.

“Part of the US$20 million that administration signed on to [was the] Oistins Waterfront Improvement and Upgrading Project . . . [which involved] installation of a new drainage system, renewal of auxiliary roads where arts and crafts vendors are located as a means of addressing the existing drainage problems . . . . This was a previous programme; all we did was bring it forward because we knew that Cricket World Cup was coming and we had to make our place look better, but if COVID had not intervened these things would have been done already,” explained the senior minister.

“And let me make it clear, it is not only for visitors because visitors are only here for a couple of weeks; it is for the people who enjoy Oistins every Friday night.”

Duguid also told parliamentarians that “this matter went through public tender, through Bonfire which is the public tender process . . .” and was published in newspapers, detailing what works would entail.