The following extracted from David Spieler’s Facebook page, he is an environmental activist.
Here’s a letter that I sent to Barbados Today. I am publishing it myself, Without Prejudice
Dear Sirs/Mesdames
I write to add comment on the Barbados Today’s editorial of 31 July re Denis Lowe, Solid Waste, and the sending home of the SSA workers:
The management of ‘solid waste/garbage’ in Barbados has become a major embarrassment to the Government of Barbados and a millstone to us. We are now at a stage where we are able to reduce, reuse and recycle 70% of our garbage by sorting it; very happy to say, yet the Government of Barbados has entered into some major contractual agreements necessitating unsustainable finances. Let’s have a look:
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We now ‘suddenly’ have to pay $120 to SBRC for every ton of anything entering Mangrove Pond, sorted or not; wet or dry, valuable for resale or non-recyclable…under a BOLT agreement, an agreement that is not available for our public scrutiny. Who signed this agreement – for the $120 per ton?
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Government have also signed another BOLT for a $300M USD sliding scale cost agreement for a Waste to Energy Plant, a 30 year secret contract. The financial implications are not available to us, it is a confidential document, and this info has been refused to be shared. Say what? Government does secret contract? Yes!
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Government have also agreed to build a $25M new SSA building at Vaucluse. We are not privy again. Is it a good thing? Who knows?
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After all these 3 things above were contracted and signed the public were then informed that, “Solid Waste has recently become an expensive business”, and we are hereby taxed via a new Solid Waste Tax, a near duplicate of Land Tax, to pay for these things.
Although management of solid waste in Barbados is now more environmentally sustainable (via SBRC) it appears plainly that the politicians have made an absolute garbage of our financial sustainability of solid waste by paying way too much… and they refused to tell us what they were doing! The possibly near break-even business of recycling, or the money generating model of B’s Recycling now costs the tax payer a payment of over $50 Million dollars per year, paid to SBRC.
What are the fiscal implications of the Waste to Energy, second contract? Another $50M subsidy?
The Government has made sustainable recycling into an unsustainable fiscal nightmare based on non-disclosed and ‘badly put together’ contracts. And that’s only the nicest way you can describe it. What a sad day in Barbados. Downgraded, taxed and laid off, spending our years trying to remain afloat, we are now told this area is “recently expensive, and by the way, we don’t have to tell you how this is, or came to be”. $50M per year is the equivalent of 2,403.84 NCC workers, remunerated at $400 per week!
Suppose we divert solid waste from SBRC, make Greenland our organic composting facility for farming and save us millions while selling at a profit. We save money. Send other recyclables to B’s for export and generate foreign exchange. Refuse to send common easy recyclables to SBRC thus saving millions. We do not need to be paying $120 per ton of coconut shells, wood, branches… water….old cars and fridges, and more. It doesn’t work, this doesn’t make any sense. Agriculture is then buying the stuff back from SBRC. Why isn’t this OUR money? We’re better qualified to pay taxes?
The population voted in the DLP, and on their ticket was a promise that information flow about everything would be legislated. They didn’t keep that promise. And it makes me angry, because in the case of solid waste I have lived close to Mangrove Pond and I have seen this fiasco at Mangrove (and at Greenland) develop at close hand. Secret contracts? No disclosure when asked? I never thought Barbados would be like this- just beyond our imagination.
We should not in this day and age be blindfolded from information and then taxed to pay for we know not what, which is essentially what is happening. One does not pay for something unless one knows what it is! This is not acceptable! Do we live in a democratic state or not?
Bigger picture
The 3 contracts above under the DLP are similar to other ones engaged by the last BLP government, where we were not privy either to any of the contracts to build the ABC highway nor Her Majesty’s Prison at Dodds, and again and again… yet now we have to pay offshore companies for BOLTs. Is this acceptable?
Both governments seem to have engaged companies to provide materials, services and supplies funded by our taxes, but they never request permission scrutiny, nor do they divulge details…until we have to pay!
Now they return and return for more and are getting ready to tax us again and again and again, looking for more ways to raise taxes. The solid waste scenario is therefore only the most recent shining example of what we do not wish our Governments to do – ie unregulated spending with no reportage. By God that’s our money, we should know!!!.
On one hand we have made past pleadings for the DLP government to bring the legislation to free up information, but due to the fact that the Stuart administration has not allowed us to see these recent solid waste contracts it may be logical to deduce that they seem to have no intention of bring forth any information. A slap in Barbados’ face…
Mia Mottley, leader of the BLP Opposition, quietly awaits her coronation. Where do she and the BLP opposition stand on all past present and future contractual agreements for major works and supplies from past, including past BLP governments… and where and where and where are we are going with this if they get elected?
How about?
An open review of every BOLT contract, and all government contracts going back 20 years… and a review of every ongoing contractual agreement Government engages in. To tax us without engaging and INFORMING US what is being done is folly and oppression of Bajans. You cannot gather revenue and then spend it without giving a full accounting. The people see.
Leaders, and potential leaders, are called to provide these answers as of today
If the opposition can lay out to Barbados how government expenditure will be brought in line with taxation (ie take a close examination of expenditure and share with us!) only then will they enjoy my vote, and only then will I happily be able to shoulder my share of this tax burden. Until then I resent it exceedingly.
Why does Prime Minister Stuart refuse to allow or caused sharing of the information regarding his Government’s contracts, after their pledge on his own reported initiative to bring the appropriate legislation? Does he not enjoy leadership of his government, including the Ministry of the Environment?
Why support a change of government to a new leader, ie Mia Mottley, when they quietly just wait, may well just do the same things? Will they not do the same as the last 2?
Demand attention today, Barbados. Make them bring the contracts for us to see, dammit, that’s our money!!!
Happy Emancipation Day, I hope this information does reach as many Bajans as possible.
David Spieler
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