Opposition raises alarm over govt transparency in use of loan funds

In a sharply-worded speech in the Senate on Wednesday, opposition lawmaker Senator Andre Worrell accused the Mottley administration of failing to show how hundreds of millions of dollars in loans taken out over the past seven years have tangibly benefitted Barbadians, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in public borrowing.

As the Senate moved to pass the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean Act, Senator Worrell said that while he supported Barbados’ move to become a full member of the multilateral financial institution, there remained insufficient public information about how borrowed funds were being used to improve citizens’ lives.

The law paves the way for Barbados to transition from a Series C shareholder to full member status within the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), a process that received approval from CAF’s board of directors in June.

Senator Worrell said that although he backed the move, transparency in how government loans are being spent was critically lacking.

“Barbadians are concerned, they would want to see all of the millions of dollars being borrowed, which have to be paid by their grandchildren, being used to benefit the people of Barbados,” he said.

“In terms of low-income housing projects, repairs for houses in Bank Hall, Dean’s Village, St Michael Central, and across the island through the Urban and Rural Development Commissions, none of that is happening with any great speed or in any great amounts that would make people believe that the money being borrowed is being spent back on them and on the development of this country.”

The senator added that several of the loans contracted in 2018 and 2020 are soon entering repayment, yet Barbadians, in his view, still have little evidence of what tangible improvements have come from them.

“The government that borrows the money is not often the one that has to deal with the burden of repayment,” he said. “But if we can see that the money was well spent and benefitted the people, we can appreciate that. The major problem Barbadians have today is this: is the money well spent?”

Senator Worrell contended that the answer to that question was “no”, citing a lack of low-income housing developments and limited opportunities for local workers in major construction projects.

“You can see that in the housing landscape, not a single low-income housing project in Barbados. You can see that in the construction sector. Construction should generate employment, but the employment is not going to Barbadians.”

He added that despite several large-scale building projects currently underway, many Barbadian workers are being overlooked.

“Up to last night I had a conversation with two young men who said they would love to get into the construction sector,” he recalled. “But with all the villas and other projects going on, when you go on those sites, the people being employed are not Barbadian and sometimes not even from the Caribbean region.”

Senator Worrell urged the government to ensure that the funds borrowed in the name of national development actually redound to the benefit of ordinary Barbadians.

“We need to make sure that when we borrow all of this money, Barbadians get to benefit… at least by getting jobs through the projects and stimulating real economic development,” he said. (SB)