Active boat owners and crew members are facing lengthy delays in receiving hurricane relief payments due to an influx of claims from inactive vessels, a Barbados TODAY investigation has revealed.
Despite the government’s assertions in Parliament that more than 400 people have received payouts from the Hurricane Beryl relief programme, several legitimate boat owners report they have yet to receive “a single cent”.
The scheme, launched after the Category 4 hurricane passed just south of the island on July 1, promises boat owners a 25 per cent rebate on vessel repairs alongside a three-month stimulus package worth $2 500 monthly for owners and $1 500 for crew members.
During a visit to the temporary boatyard on the Harbour Road, veteran boat owners told Barbados TODAY that the programme had become mired in confusion due to claims from individuals who were not actively fishing when the hurricane’s storm surges smashed most of the boats moored at the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex.
“Majority of the owners didn’t get their money; there is no order. A lot of people that are around the sector applied for this money that is not in line for it. They probably were not active or impacted by what happened. They figured that they could get something out of this,” one owner said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The situation contradicts statements made in Parliament on Tuesday by Blue Economy Minister Adrian Forde, who claimed that all 469 qualified individuals had received their first stimulus payments, and 150 of those had received a second payment.
“These payments are given on a daily basis, so I expect between this week and next week that the other tranche would be delivered to those fisherfolk,” he said.
Officials from the Fisheries Division had conducted surveys to determine active vessels, asking questions about captains, owners and crew members. Boat owners say the system became clogged with applications from those whose vessels were “stagnated in the Bridgetown Complex” when the hurricane struck.
Another said: “But there were people from the Fisheries Division coming down and doing a survey to determine who was active. They would ask certain questions like the captain’s name, the boat owner’s name and the crew. This would give them an idea of who was actually fishing, but the problem is the owners who had boats stagnated in the Bridgetown Complex tied when the system passed. Yes, you may have qualified to be an owner; yes, you may have been a fisherman but you were not active. So these people just went forward and applied and clogged the system. So the issue came when they (officials) had to sort through names and information. If you were active you would have been in a position to tell the people from Fisheries when they came how much was your catch.”
Charles Inniss said he received his 25 per cent rebate and two of the three stimulus payments. (SZB)
“The deceitful people who were not fishing came and put down their names so there was an influx of people they had to sort out and this made things difficult to process,” another owner explained.
Whilst some fishers, including Charles Inniss, reported receiving both the rebate and two months of stimulus payments, others expressed concern that the 25 per cent rebate was only a fraction of what was needed given the scale of repairs.
“We are not being ungrateful, but 25 per cent not cutting it. Look at it, 25 per cent of $60 000 ($15 000) still means I have to look for more than $40,000 to repair my boat,” one owner noted.
They also highlighted that boat insurance premiums start at $20 000 due to the high-risk nature of fishing, with running costs further increased by fuel, ice and groceries, while catches have diminished compared to previous years.
In the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds announced that Prime Minister Mia Mottley was negotiating with the World Bank to establish a US$10.55 million (BDS$21.1 million) compensation mechanism for fisherfolk, which would support the repair and replacement of damaged vessels.
The government’s handling of the fishing industry came under scrutiny following criticism from Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne, who argued that insufficient support was being provided.
Some fishers remain optimistic despite the delays. Harvey Corbin, who received his first stimulus payment and awaits the repair rebate, said he had to replace his severely damaged timber vessel with a fibreglass boat. “The funds would go a long way to help,” he added.
Barbados TODAY understands that the distribution of funds began in September.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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