New Fee to Fast-Track Road Repairs Across Antigua and Barbuda

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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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