Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves has denied that his Unity Labour Party government has to contribute to the operation of the cruise ship pier because it was running at a loss.
He was responding to comments from Minister of Tourism Kishore Shallow, who said that the facility had been operating at a loss over the past five years, forcing the government to intervene.
Shallow said the operating cost of the pier over the last five years totalled EC$15 million, with 2023 being the only year that the facility generated a profit — EC$266,000.
However, Gonsalves said that the money that his government spent was for arrears and not operating costs.
“Shallow like to talk things that the cruise ship pier made losses and the government had to put money in it,” Gonsalves said, adding that the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Port Authority is the entity responsible for the pier’s accounts.
“The government never put any money for the operation of the cruise ship pier as Shallow pointed out. Absolutely not,” Gonsalves said.
The cruise ship facility was constructed under Sir James Mitchell’s New Democratic Party administration, Gonsalves noted.
He said that despite what he called the location and design flaws, it served its purpose.
He said the government owed money to the Kuwaiti Fund and in 2002, he and the then budget director, Isaac Solomon, travelled to Kuwait and the arrears were paid.
“So, the government paid the arrears for the building of the pier but did not put money for the operation of the pier,” Gonsalves said.
“But Shallow typically wants to throw smoke in people eye with something – government run this thing so bad that they had to put money from central government – not true at all,” he said.