Concerns Mount Over Costly New Development Plans Amidst Priorities Debate

It is with some concern that one reads of over-ambitious plans for grand projects that it is obvious we cannot afford and are really not priorities.

The large new Geriatric Hospital, built in the wrong place with the wrong design to replace a large and serviceable Geriatric Hospital, ostensibly to join our large number of derelict buildings in Historic Bridgetown at a cost that remains a secret, is now followed by two extraordinary new proposals.

The first is apparently to possibly replace our school buildings (some 23 secondary and 70 primary) with brand new buildings.

The second is to abandon the Historic Garrison headquarters of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) with its many barrack buildings and offices—again with the inevitable fate of dereliction—for a brand new and larger garrison in the middle of the country. Where is the obviously required report on the need for this, including estimated costs and the sources of repayment for the funding? And what serious uses could be applied for the adaptive reuse of the abandoned barracks?

Together, these proposals would run into some billions of dollars. And every so often, someone suggests that a new hospital would solve all the problems of management, morale, machinery and medical teams. Isn’t it time that common sense and sound management prevailed over exotic visions of champagne tastes for mauby pockets? Obvious errors of judgement are allowed to proceed:

A geriatric hospital by the highway with no ventilation, no verandas and dependent on air conditioning is fatally flawed. The 35 per cent failure rate in English and Maths at the Common Entrance Exams will not be solved by brand new buildings, but by improvement in teacher salaries, morale, skills and goals. Secondary students leaving school without certificates and choosing careers in crime will not be solved by splendid new buildings but by literacy, numeracy and appropriate skills. And abandoning the BDF HQ at the Garrison will only produce the biggest derelict disaster site in Barbados at a cost we can ill afford.

If more office space is needed, some of the eight buildings already going derelict above Garrison Hill could be repaired and utilised, and/or part of the adjacent old Mobile site with work done to clean up the oil remains.

It is interesting to note that Costa Rica and Panama are prohibited in their constitutions to have a traditional army although they do have a defence force. It appears that the BDF is receiving more and more duties, especially related to development matters for our youth. Is the BDF the best area of government to carry out this function?

Projects can be very risky

Government officials, in their exuberance for doing projects and winning support from the population, often exaggerate and make promises on projects that they know are far from being realised. Also, projects – like construction and divorce – usually end up taking longer and costing more!

The Hilton Hotel replacement may be an example of this. Greenfield projects often are risky and are not for the faint-hearted. Certainly one should never encourage the masses to invest their modest savings into projects until they are established and shown to be viable.

The Pierhead Project has taken 28 years to finally get started, but it promises to be successful under the new ownership. Whereas, after 18 years, the Four Seasons Project is stalled and remains a concrete jungle graveyard next to the beautiful Paradise Beach. This project has been a disaster by the several Barbados governments and the private sector and it should be carefully analysed to show the many mistakes of the various parties because it has cost the taxpayers of Barbados millions.

After 64 years, we still have not made any progress on the proposed Barbados National Art Gallery. The new financing and management arrangement with CoopEnergy for the sugar industry needs further explanations, given the recognised difficulties of this sector that cost the government tens of millions.

Accountability and better project management

Project ideas must stand the test of very thorough analyses and feasibility studies, followed by appropriate funding as well as a well-executed implementation phase.

A Public Investment Unit (PUI) has existed in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs for a long time (circa 50 years). Given governments’ poor experience of having many projects with large cost overruns and delays, it would seem prudent to thoroughly investigate the reasons for what amounts to costly mistakes for the taxpayers. Is it possible that projects are being proposed without proper feasibility studies by the PUI? And if the PUI is doing the studies, as it surely should be, why are they not made available to the public?

As a former CEO of RBTT Bank in Barbados, which financed the large Judicial Centre around 2006, I observed that some of the civil servants involved in the project had little or no experience in project finance and implementation. I have also been informed that few, if any, of the government projects have a formal Project Implementation Plan, an absolute necessity for timely implementation.

In addition, Barbados has substantial undisbursed balances on approved loans from international funding institutions that have not been withdrawn on the prior agreed schedule. Barbados incurs a commitment fee on these balances. In fact, some of these institutions have indicated that they will not consider more funding until Barbados improves its implementation. This is sullying Barbados’ reputation.

Perhaps Barbados could follow the successful initiatives of Jamaica’s Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) which has improved transparency and accountability so that it is now embedded in their culture, with substantial improvement in the country’s financial situation.

Governments, politicians and investors alike must be held accountable for their actions and we need thorough investigative reporting to encourage accountability.

John Beale is a former Ambassador to the US and the OAS, and Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group).