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Barbados’ Tourism and International Transport minister is being told to concentrate on the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) and its upkeep, instead of seeking to shift attention onto the last administration.
Stop trying to take digs at the last government
Former Tourism and International Transport minister and Democratic Labour Party (DLP) stalwart Richard Sealy has responded to the statements by the present minister who holds the portfolio under the Mottley-led administration, where it was said on Wednesday, February 22, that during Sealy’s tenure from 2010 to 2018 “no audited financials were ever prepared and laid in the House of Parliament.”
Sealy told Loop News it is complete nonsense.
He said, “Annual reports for all statutory and government-owned office departments are laid in Parliament. It is not unusual for those reports to be late. That is a diversionary tactic to get away from the central issue. At the time, the minister was addressing the airport, runway lights not working at the airport and trying to get on as if it is some ordinary thing. The runway lights never stopped working when I was minister or prior…because we saw that that maintenance was important.
“The maintenance has fell down because the airport is underfunded and that is the point.”
Furthermore, to reinforce his point that bringing up the reports is nothing but smoke and mirrors to throw-off from the point at-hand which is the airport, Sealy explained, “All the laying of financials, they are… look, when I came to office in 2008 the BTA [Barbados Tourism Authority] had outstanding annual reports too, and I didn’t make noise about it. I got on about my job, and in fact, I brought on extra resources to bring the BTA reports up to scratch. I never made any fuss about it…
“The issue is the bad administration at the airport.”
They have mismanaged the airport situation
It was also stated that reportedly after Sealy’s stint at the helm when the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) won power in 2018, Barbados had a poor reputation at World Travel Market at outstanding debts.
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To this, Sealy said, “If it is that we owed operators money and we had four record years in a row, well we should be saluted for it. So you mean to tell me they been flushed with money and paying all of their bills and tourism practically was on its deathbed with them? I don’t understand the point.
“He is just trying to get away from an issue pertaining to mal administration at the airport. They have mismanaged the airport situation – saluting a runway resurfacing project that was not their project. It was conceived, negotiated and designed under the Democratic Labour Party government. All they did was went to tender on it, and they trying to say that that is his project… They need to focus on what is really important.”
The former Cabinet member stressed, “Stop trying to take digs at the last government, by the way, that was doing a way better job at managing tourism and managing the airport and managing the sea port than this government has done.”
The runway edge circuit light fault affected flights on the evening and night of Valentine’s Day and February 15, 2023. It was fixed on February 15 and the minister said he is awaiting a full report to take action to prevent any recurrence of such issue.
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