The Bahamas has lost out on millions of dollars in relief funds from the European Union because of negligence on the part of former administrations, according to a Cabinet Minister.
Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller traveled to Brussels, Belgium last week to meet with EU officials in his quest to secure ﾠ$12 million to assist in rebuilding Family Island infrastructure damaged after Hurricane Frances.
To his surprise, Minister Miller said, grants that were allocated to assist The Bahamas during national disasters were not readily available for access due to the noncompliance with the EU’s Cotonou Agreement.
This agreement replaced the Lom� Convention, which has provided the structure for trade and cooperation between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific states since 1975.
Days after Hurricane Frances, the Minister had said during a press conference called by the prime minister, that The Bahamas expected to benefit from EU funding to the tune of at $12 million.
The Minister said Thursday he will continue to push to get funds from the EU. He added that about $8.5 million can be accessed by The Bahamas in about five weeks.
Those funds would be crucial to the government, which is seeking to repair damaged infrastructure. The situation was compounded by Hurricane Jeanne over the weekend.
On some Family Islands, roadways, particularly those along the seashore, have been battered and now have gaping holes that could create dangerous driving conditions.
Some government buildings, docks and airports, also suffered significant damage in the storms.
Minister Miller told reporters Thursday that if the former PLP administration and the FNM government had complied with provisions of the EU agreement, The Bahamas, like other developing countries, would have been able to readily access many more millions of dollars in grants from the EU.
“In my initial meeting with EU [officials], they were not only surprised, but they were considering whether or not The Bahamas should continue to be a recipient of aid from the European Union or funding from the European Union for Family Island development as well as infrastructure development due to the fact that over the past 25 years The Bahamas has been grossly negligent in accessing grant funds that were rightly given to The Bahamas,ﾒ he said.
The Minister added that from the year 2000, the paperwork that was required to be handed in on a yearly basis to enable The Bahamas to facilitate the funding of projects had not been completed.
He said this contributed to the EU’s misconception that The Bahamas was not in need of funding.
“Therefore, they were of the opinion that a country as rich as The Bahamas had no need for funding from the European Union and they were looking at diverting those funds to other countries that fulfilled the obligation of the Cotonou [agreement],ﾒ Minister Miller said.
He said he has assured the EU that from now on, “high quality individualsﾒ will be appointed to oversee the process from The Bahamas’ end to ensure that benefits granted to the country will be accessed to the fullest extent.
“What usually happens when you don’t fulfill your requirement with the Union [is that] those funds go back into a currency basket to projects that are on schedule for other developing countries. Those countries are then given those funds to assist in the economic development of their country,” Minister Miller explained.
He said Haiti and The Bahamas were the only two countries over the years that have lost funds allocated to them from the EU because they did not utilize those funds by sending in information on projects that needed funding.
While The Bahamas has lost out on millions of dollars in aid, the European Union’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), has secured $650,000 to assist hurricane-affected islands, the Minister said.
But only the Bahamas Red Cross Society would be able to access some of that money. The Minister said he planned to meet with officials from that organization as early as Friday to inform them how they can tap into those funds.
The European Union as a whole is one of the world’s main humanitarian aid donors, and ECHO is the service responsible for this activity.
“They assist countries right away that are a part of the African Caribbean Pacific [states] ﾠto receive immediate funds,” Minister Miller explained.
He said Grenada has already received $1.5 million from ECHO.
“It appears to me, from my discussions with senior officers of the Union, that perhaps The Bahamas might be eligible for about $3 million in quick funding to assist those persons who are displaced in Grand Bahama and Abaco,” the Minister said.
He also told reporters that he plans to meet next week with EU executives in Kingston, Jamaica to present specifics on the damage wrought by the recent hurricanes and the kinds of repairs that are needed.
If the EU approves the planned reconstruction activities, the funding would be used solely for infrastructure development on the Family Islands, which would include the repair of docks, roads, streetlights and electrical works.
Government officials have said that those funds are important given that the monies being donated to the national disaster relief fund are being used strictly to assist hurricane victims to rebuild and not for any kinds of infrastructure work.
Authorities have also said they are reordering their fiscal priorities in light of the recent storms and some capital work outlined in the 2004-2005 budget will not proceed as scheduled.
Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
