The Social Security Board is one of the better institutions, and it loans its money wisely. See last week’s report on their 2013 operations in the Beacon. The extra income from these loans improves the capital available to fund our pensions and other social needs. They like loaning to government, because governments of whichever party always pay them back. So our money is safe, whatever opponents think. So I applaud the decision of the SSB and government to arrange a $16 million loan for road improvements.
However, I am also mystified. Communications and Works Minister Mark Vanterpool said he has $4.5 million in this year’s budget for road repairs. We also have a loan of more than $15 million from the Caribbean Development Bank, as well as this extra $16 million. That’s a total of more than $35.5 million. Take away $1 million for the Chinese equipment, and that means $34.5 million-plus for tarmac, concrete, other materials, labour, and so on. For this money, we should end up with the finest road network in the Caribbean, but I bet we won’t!
Cruise ships
I see that businesses in Cane Garden Bay are now advertising Saturdays and Sundays as “no cruise ship days.” That speaks massively of what some people think about the ever increasing number of tourists, and the despoiling of what is allegedly our finest beach by hoards of visitors. Unfortunately, the canker is also spreading to Brewers Bay, both Long bays, Nanny Cay, and Smugglers Cove, but not to the government’s favourite alternative, Brandywine Bay. Despite beautification measures, Brandywine remains the preserve of the model powerboats, which are great fun to watch.
Sewerage contract
A couple of things caught my eye in the Beacon article last week about the Biwater contract. We should be pleased that they will be using a mole to dig tunnels for the pipes, instead of digging up the road surface.
I also note that seawater for the desalination plant will be sourced from Paraquita Bay, and the effluent from the adjacent sewage treatment plant will be pumped to the Sir Francis Drake Channel in pipes laid through nearby Brandywine Bay — and government has to lay the effluent line. I wonder if they have planning in hand for that?
Government also has to get on with improving the delivery pipe network in order to take delivery of the full water output that they are paying for. Have we ever seen figures that show that we actually need 2.3 million gallons per day? If we don’t, the original contract was not very well thought out by the previous government, nor was the lack of capacity to take it. Still, I expect those ships carrying 5,600 people will help us out.
Water billing
I am horrified to read that providing the Water and Sewerage Department with a decent billing system was removed from the contract. It is without doubt the worst system in the territory. It must cause great loss of income, and I bet WSD has done nothing about it on their own. What sort of billing system can’t take advance payments or show credits?
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