Barbados Senator Highlights Economic Impact of Villa Sector Growth, Calls for Regulation of Unnecessary Utilities Charges

A senator in Barbados recently noted the significant contribution that the expanding villa sector, which includes apartments, is making to the Barbados economy, through real estate sales, construction and accommodation services. Barbados is apparently leading its Caribbean neighbours in this new subsector of our tourist industry which has responded to a market demand.

I wonder how many Barbadians realise how socially important this development is to Barbados as a significant number of these villas and apartments are owned and operated by individuals with just one or two units. As such, the development is promoting a greater opportunity for “economic involvement and enfranchisement” of the average Barbadian.

One of the issues that these owners/operators are facing is the failure of the FTC [Fair Trading Commission] to regulate the telephone, television and Internet providers in charging for the nonuse of their service when a particular villa or apartment is vacant. The other utility suppliers like water and electricity have a minimum base rate rental for the infrastructure required to supply their service when that service is not being used. Why can the telephone, television and Internet suppliers not be required to do the same?

The villa and apartment operators have limited budgets and no economies of scale, especially when compared with the large hotels. The vagaries of our tourist market result in many of these villas and apartments being occupied for short-term periods and vacant for extended periods during which the telephone, television and Internet services are not being used, but the owner/operator must still pay for that service. These costs can accumulate to significant amounts which are expanding the bank accounts of the providers while depleting those of the villa owner/operators.

The providers have the facility to remotely turn on and off their service as seen when any payments are overdue. Why has the FTC failed to require the providers to do just that when a villa or apartment is vacant? In the meantime, the providers are maintaining their revenues while the villa owners must pay when they have no revenue.

This issue was brought to the FTC’s attention more than a year ago. Am I right in thinking that the Barbadian public must start demanding better from our “bureaucratic civil servants”, or should we just continue to accept their 70 per cent implementation deficit like passive subordinates?

Peter Webster