Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and CAF’s Executive President, Sergio Díaz-Granados Guida, signing the US $75 million loan for the National Performing Arts Centre and an amphitheatre in the National Botanical Gardens, while officials look on. (C. Pitt/BGIS)
Government has kept good on its promise to build out new capacity in the heritage and cultural industries with the signing of a US $75 million loan to build out the National Performing Arts Centre at Newton, Christ Church, and an amphitheatre in the National Botanical Gardens.
A small portion of the funds will be used to modernise the air navigational tools at the Grantley Adams International Airport.
This was revealed by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who today signed the agreement with the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) on the final day of the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, at Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle Resort.
Pointing out that the signing comes months after she had announced three major projects for the sector, during the launch of the Marcus Garvey Amphitheatre in Queen’s Park last year, Ms. Mottley pointed out that there had been no major investment in heritage facilities for some time.
Acknowledging the importance of the relationship with CAF as a developmental partner for the last two decades, she credited the institution for the role it played in the community by financing several projects that “had made a difference in the lives of Barbadians”.
The Prime Minister contended that while it appeared that Government was borrowing, she stressed that “our debt as it relates to the size of the economy” continued to decline.
Ms. Mottley continued: “And, when we came to office, we inherited a debt situation that when we added what the Government owed…, the debt to GDP ratio was 177 per cent. We brought it down to 119 per cent and it went back up during COVID to 152 per cent, as you would recall. It is back down now at the end of December last year, to 103 per cent, and we are working towards bringing it to double digits, hopefully by the end of this year, certainly [by] the beginning of next year and that includes all of these instruments that we are signing….
“These facilities that we are building, and the air navigational tools that we are getting, build capacity for the people of Barbados, and it is only fair that rather than building out of our pocket that the persons who get to use these facilities over the next 20, 30 years get to pay back the loan….”
The Prime Minister added that Barbados’ improved ratings from international credit ratings agencies was “also another sign that our debt to GDP ratio, our fiscal anchors are all going in the right direction”.
Meanwhile, CAF’s Executive President, Sergio Díaz-Granados Guida, thanked Ms. Mottley, and by extension Barbados, for valuing the strategic partnership with the financial institution.
Present at the signing were Minister in Finance, Ryan Straughn; Minister in Economic Affairs and Investment, Senator Chad Blackman; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight; and CAF’s Regional Manager for the Caribbean Corporate Management Office for Countries, Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy.
