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Senators question Debt Settlement Arrears Bill

by Barbados Today
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The way in which the Government plans to make outstanding payments to certain categories of Barbadians to which it is indebted is not sitting well with some Senators.

Questions were raised about the Debt Settlement Arrears Bill on Monday after Leader of Government Business in the Upper House, Senator Jerome Walcott said the Bill covers $1.9 billion in arrears, including $250 million being unpaid National Insurance contributions for public workers between 2015 and 2018, and $312 million in compensation for land acquired by Government.

“We have been unable to meet these payments previously, owing to the pandemic, the ashfall and Hurricane Elsa, as those funds had to be diverted to deal with those matters,” Senator Walcott explained.

The legislation which he introduced in the Senate facilitates the creation and issuance of Series J bonds to allow Government to settle its obligations and liabilities to persons whose lands were acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, Cap. 228 before September 30, 2018; persons in respect of causes or legal claims instituted against the Crown before September 30, 2018; and for Barbados denominated arrears incurred or assumed by the Crown before September 30, 2018.

“The bonds… carry the same structure as the Series F bonds we issued in October 2018, so they cover the period October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2022, and they also carry a natural disaster clause and will be paid over a 42-month period. There is no interest component associated with them,” Walcott further explained.

However, Senator Caswell Franklyn questioned the move to pay in bonds.

“This Bill is essentially Government saying, ‘We are broke and cannot pay you’, and what they have done here is to settle money owed by incurring another debt. Another issue too is that with the lack of an interest component, the money, once it is actually paid out, won’t go as far,” he contended.

The Opposition Senator recalled that his grandmother had never been compensated for land acquired by the Government, even before he was born, to build a road in Spring Farm, St. Thomas. He outlined how Government and property owners often found themselves in that predicament.

“In some cases, the two parties could not agree on a sum of money, and when negotiations broke down Government left it alone, but the individuals had the right to take the Government to court to claim what was theirs,” Franklyn said.

Meanwhile, Independent Senator Kevin Boyce stated that instead of issuing bonds, Government could have considered other alternatives: “Issuing a tax credit for the bondholders, for example, if they are getting a bond associated with land the Government acquired from them. Another thing Government could consider is allowing holders to use the bonds on secondary markets, and they should also give special consideration to those people who are most adversely affected by these issues.”

Senator Reverend Dr John Rogers said the legislation seemed to be a matter of “optics”, since the period the payments covered saw significant rises and falls in Barbados’ fortunes, yet nothing was done to address these issues.

“Over the last 30 years, we have had a ‘golden era’, a ‘lost decade’ and, in the last three years, the largest Cabinet while going through one of our worst economic periods. It is a problem of governance when it seems like we only remember people every five years,” he contended.

“There are many people out there who need that money; but you tell them that they will get it in five years, in the first instance, and if there is a natural disaster within that time they will have to wait a couple years longer. Maybe it is the best we can do for now but it is a shame we have got to this point.” (DH)

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