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User Fee to Fund $100 Million Road Repair Loan
A new user fee introduced by the government of Antigua and Barbuda is expected to generate over $10 million annually and will be used to repay a $100 million loan aimed at accelerating road repairs across the country.
Chief of Staff Lionel Max Hurst explained that the fee allows for immediate access to large-scale funding instead of waiting for limited revenue to accumulate each year.
“Instead of waiting for a slow accumulation of $10 million over a period of 12 months, and acting only on the $10 million, you can borrow against the $10 million—$100 million—and you repay maybe 5% interest or so,” he said during the post-Cabinet press briefing.
He said this approach would enable the government to undertake repairs in a more efficient and wide-reaching manner.
“You can then do many repairs simultaneously rather than do them serially because you don’t have the resources,” Mr Hurst said.
He also used the opportunity to illustrate the long-standing challenges associated with limited financial access in other areas, such as Barbuda.
“If you don’t have ownership of the land, you can’t arrange to have a mortgage,” he said. “The banks know that if you borrow their money and you don’t repay it, that they can confiscate the house from you and sell it to somebody else who has the resources to pay for it.”
Mr Hurst pointed to unfinished homes in Barbuda as an example of how a lack of capital access can slow development.
“You have to build your house out of current income. So you throw a box, and when the box-hand comes in, you put it on the roof or something like that,” he said.
By contrast, he said the user fee model would allow for a proactive and strategic approach to road development, with the ability to act quickly and comprehensively.
The loan, backed by future user fee revenue, is expected to fund island-wide improvements in road conditions and infrastructure reliability.
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I’m ready to see my tax dollars at work. Let’s go.
People can be fooled easily . So much monies had been borrowed in the pass for road repairs. No accountability. Keep fooling them .
[…] Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda, today joined other national leaders in a special celebration marking the 25th Anniversary of the […]
Our taxpayer money isnt enough?
Why we paying extra for something our taxes should already cover?
The people presently building roads here full of shit, the monies borrowed will be wasted and disappear in the usual manner I do not need to go into the details about that, the Kleptocracy will see to that
Did Maria’s Top Dawg food eat up all of the grants and loans allocated for infrastructure development over the past eight years?
This is to make Maria look good in the eyes of the Gaston Lipspittle Army. Let’s see how well she looks after been deposed under the US Federal Laws regarding the Alfa Nero scams and shams.
A whey all dee money from England garne. That was suppose to build roads and repair them. Gaston Browne, the brightest man on Earth.He did say, he was going to borrow Antigua and Barbuda out of DEBTS. I am still awaiting that arithmetic formula.
The $100M will be needed to satisfy the gigantic judgement coming down the pipe on account of the Alpha Nero boondoggle. There won’t be ANY road repairs. Antiguans will be paying for Banker Brownes adventures and misadventures for the next100 years. What a mess this country is in!
PEOPLE of this twin island nation, WHY IS IT THAT THE ONLY NUMBER OUR TOP DWAG SEEMS TO KNOW IS 10 MILLION??
10 MILLION FROM GLOBAL BANK
10 MILLION DONATION TO BARBUDA FOR HURRICANE RELIEF (That still no reach Dem)
10 MILLION SHORT(allegedly) ON THE ALFA NAR GO ( funny how we can’t seem to shake it off our shoes sole)
10 MILLION TO HELP FEMALE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
10 MILLION TO BORROW 100 MILLION
YOU’RE BLOODLETTING US AT EVER OPPORTUNITY TO FIX YOUR BAD FINANCIAL SHORTS.
WE WILL SOON NEED A BLOOD TRANSFUSION!!!!!!!!
GOD SAVE US.
BYULLSHYTE!!!!Some roads will get a hurry fixing to get a hurry digging up to set the stage for a new generation of potholes…..
All this does is pay Hadeed for the $3.6 million equipment that he charge $20 million for –again!
Jason – correct , plus black Hadeed , plus the accent general. Very soon plenty of them will be afraid to land in the USA.
Is he trying to compare the way poor people handle their survival affair to the way government takes taxes from the citizens to fix road that never get complicated, all the money government borrowing in the name of fixing roads where are the money its in someone’s pockets. How can a country with poor people that work hard but never see changes end up with people around them becoming “overnight millionaire” someone should go in their pocket and pay for those street, not the taxpayers .hope they’re not trying to quickly pay back money borrowed from US before making decisions to stand with Venezuela.
Say what you want…PRECISELY because there are no mortgages in barbuda the bank can NOT come and take it to sell it to someone with money!! But…..what the land system in barbuda has to do with road repairs in antigua???