Premier Reuben Meade has attributed the lack of ferries and affordable flights to Montserrat this December to financial mismanagement by the previous government.
Last week, the premier, who also serves as finance minister, stated that there was unlikely to be any ferry service from Antigua or airline subsidies during the festive season.
Speaking on ZJB Radio on Thursday, 12 December, Meade acknowledged that little progress had been made since his previous update, despite working “very, very deliberately” to resolve the issue.
He insisted the the inadequate sea and air transport arrangements were a direct consequence of economic errors made under the former administration.
“There have been some decisions made by government which have put government at some severe financial risk to complete the financial year,” he said.
Among the outgoings are money owed from lawsuits “which we were unaware of”, the premier said, as well as additional funding for the Little Bay port and other projects “which were not being well managed”.
Meade made specific mention to a lawsuit from “many years ago” in which the government was ordered to pay $2 million.
“Nothing was done about it, and now the total amount, including compounding of interest, is now to up to $8 million,” he said, adding that the government is attempting to get that resolved.
Another concern is that for several years the government has not paid rent to some land owners, he said, adding: “Again that is going to litigation, unless we can negotiate those down.”
Salary increases for civil servants have also caused economic problems because the funds had to be take from various government ministries, Meade continued.
“To this date, we still have to be finding funds to supplement some of those ministries and departments who had previously been stripped of funds,” he said.
Watch the premier’s update in full here.
