Opposition leader Ralph Thorne has condemned the government’s land-use strategy, accusing it of prioritising housing developments at the expense of farming and proceeding with major projects without adequate public consultation.
In his reply to the Budget in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Thorne highlighted the acquisition of lands at the former Bullens Agricultural Station in St James as a prime example of what he described as reckless decision-making.
“This government came in here and acquired lands at Bullens Agricultural Station…man and I got up and behaved bad in here. Not the kind of bad behaviour that would entitle the Speaker to put me out, but I protested,” he said. “I protested because I felt that too much of our agricultural land was going into housing. I predicted, I said no doubt they will put high-end villas down there because it’s just above the West Coast. I was laughed at and I overheard a voice from the other side saying, ‘he does not even know the houses gone up already’. That is what this government is doing.”
Thorne took aim at what he sees as the administration’s tendency to proceed with major projects without proper public consultation: “This government is proceeding with its projects and then coming to the people after. That is what Holetown is about; the people in this country feel aggrieved that those negotiations were so advanced and that the people found out all too late.”
He warned that the issue in Holetown—where the government has pressed ahead with plans to redevelop the Holetown Civic Centre site, awarding an $176m project to the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) for the construction of a 100-room hotel around the national monument to the island’s colonisation—was about more than just heritage concerns. He pointed to what he believes is an economic imbalance favouring wealthy interests at the expense of ordinary Barbadians.
“Sometimes you have people who are dominant not because of political power, but because of financial power,” he explained. “You may find that Holetown is not exclusively about heritage, you may find that Holetown is also about the loss of opportunity. A denial of the right of access, not only to a beach but a denial of the right of access to national resources. When people see these large buildings going up, it is not only the sea that they are blocking, but they are blocking ambitions and aspirations.”
Thorne stressed that while the government continues to boast about positive tourism numbers, there remains a worrying reliance on this sector despite years of advice from economic experts urging diversification.
“This economy continues its over-reliance on tourism; we have been saying for a long time—and before I came across here—the economists were telling this government that this economy needs to be diversified. An economy cannot claim respectability when it’s driven on one industry unless it is oil or something. In this little place we must diversify.
“I know the honourable member for Christ Church East Central [Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn] boasted yesterday that he has six hotels coming up all at once…while we have focused on tourism, agriculture seems indifferent,” he said.
He noted that with tourism being the dominant driver of GDP, agriculture’s contribution—currently three per cent—should not be seen as comfortable for Barbados given its history of diversifying away from sugar production due to fluctuating prices and growing global competition.
Thorne also took a swipe at government’s statements surrounding sustainability issues and environmental protection, dismissing its frequent use of environmental buzzwords as mere political posturing.
“Three sentences don’t pass in here from this government unless you hear about climate change, resilience, ecosystems, sustainability and all kinds of pretty words,” he said. “That is the government’s biggest industry…if you want pretty words, knock on this government’s house. They selling cheap.” (SB)
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