Opposition Leader Criticizes Public Accounts Committee Prioritization Amid Housing Project Dispute

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) appeared on Thursday to be embroiled in a dispute over its investigative priorities, with Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne accusing the government of sidelining a crucial inquiry into the controversial HOPE housing project.

Thorne told reporters at a news conference of frustration with the government’s decision to prioritise an old Barbados Water Authority matter over the housing issue in the committee, despite previous commitments from the prime minister.

“I promised this country that the Public Accounts Committee under my chairmanship would pursue investigations that the people of Barbados feel are due for investigation. I promised this country that we would look at the question of housing,” Thorne said.

He recalled the prime minister’s pledge to prioritise an investigation into housing and the government-owned HOPE company established to address housing issues. But Thorne said that during a recent PAC meeting, government lawmakers voted to focus on the BWA instead.

“I am unhappy to report to you that the government members of that committee felt that the matter should go to a vote. They felt that we should not give the highest priority to housing but that we should go back to a Barbados Water Authority matter that was started when Bishop Joseph Atherley was opposition leader, I think, in 2019,” Thorne told journalists.

The opposition leader argued that the public is more interested in an investigation into housing than an old BWA issue. He also questioned the government’s reluctance to investigate the HOPE project, which he described as a “failed initiative”.

Thorne raised concerns about the government’s recent land allocation decisions, particularly the vesting of lands of the former St Bartholomew’s Girls School at Pilgrim Place, Christ Church. He expressed regret that “the government was now taking up precious lands and vesting them in a private company”.

The opposition leader called for an investigation into the $60 million allocated to HOPE and its operations. “The people of Barbados want an investigation into that $60 million. The people of Barbados want an investigation into the manner in which HOPE and the housing people have been functioning in relation to hard-earned taxpayers’ monies,” he said.

Thorne also highlighted the limitations of the PAC’s current structure, which gives significant power to the general membership dominated by government MPs. He advocated for legislative changes to empower the chairman, typically from the opposition, to set the agenda.

“If everything comes to a vote, we cannot win. We cannot win on partisan lines. So the power that we thought we had as chairman, apparently, we don’t have,” Thorne lamented.

The opposition leader issued a call to action for Barbadians, emphasising the importance of public scrutiny. “I want the people to know what has happened. The people must know. And real political power lies with the people. And let the people start sharpening their pens. If this government believes that it can suppress a legitimate exercise of inquiry, let the people start sharpening their pens soon,” he declared.