Public deserves more info, says Worrell

A former Senator is raising a red flag on what he describes as an abuse of power by Government, in its move to acquire property at Bay Street for “tourism development”.

Vice President of the Democratic Labour Party, Andre Worrell, who served in the Senate under the Freundel Stuart administration, expressed concern about the recent move in Parliament to use the Land Acquisition Act to acquire property at Bay Street. He believes that it begs to question Government’s involvement in the Hyatt Project.

“The resolution was passed in the Lower House, which is the first part of the hurdle. A Government that controls all the seats in Parliament would not have a challenge passing legislation. For that reason, one would also expect that a Government with such a mandate would be very cautious, open and fair in the manner in which they exercise that mandate.”

He said that the impression was given during the debate that the property will be used for tourism development. “All signals point to the Hyatt Project, which as far as we know is a private sector, hotel development project. The glaring question which remains unanswered is, ‘What role or interest does the Government have in the Hyatt Project?’

“This is a fair question as the purpose of the Land Acquisition Act is, ‘to authorise the acquisition of land for public purposes’. What is the public purpose or interest which the Government of Barbados has in the Hyatt Project?

“We learned from the debate that it is the intention of the Government to ‘transfer the property to a private developer’. They did not say engage the services of a private developer to further develop the property on behalf of the Government. How does this qualify as a public purpose? Why is the Government using such a restrictive, heavy-handed piece of legislation to act as an intermediary between two private commercial entities?”

Worrell stated that raising the concerns is not to object to the development of the hotel.

“The project would have been ongoing and contributing to the economic development of Barbados if an injunction was not brought by persons who are now integrally involved with the present Government.

“What we are concerned about is the manner in which this Government appears to be trampling on the rights of other citizens...”

He charged that once the land acquisition resolution is passed by Parliament, the landowner has very little recourse to challenge the acquisition or the price paid for the property.

In fact, he said that it is not far-fetched that smaller landowners or families who own prime property along the coastlines can face a similar fate.

“It is clear the Mia Mottley administration finds itself in a difficult situation to identify growth and development strategies. However, a heavy-handed approach and abuse of legislation is not the way to bring about this economic stimulus. The Government is on the verge of creating a dangerous precedent with the manner in which it intends to use its overwhelming majority to compulsory acquire the land at Bay Street,” he said. (JH)