Prime Minister Godwin Friday has declared that slow project execution will no longer be tolerated after disclosing in Parliament that EC$170.6 million out of EC$177.7 million in development loans secured from the Saudi Fund for Development remains unspent.
Addressing the House of Assembly in response to parliamentary inquiries regarding government drawdown rates, the Prime Minister expressed strong dissatisfaction with lagging progress across major public works and warned staff within the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning that strict accountability measures are now in effect.
The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has signed three major financing agreements with the Saudi Fund for Development totaling EC$177.7 million. However, with two of the three agreements set to reach their contractual closure dates on December 31, only EC$3.39 million has been expended across the entire portfolio:
Natural Disaster Rehabilitation & Construction Project:
- Total Allocation: EC$134.6 million (signed April 18, 2024; closing Dec 31, 2027).
- Unspent Balance: EC$128.0 million.
- Scope: Designed to repair and rebuild critical infrastructure across five sectors: education, housing, national security, health, and sports.
Cultural Artistic Hubs and Markets Project:
- Total Allocation: EC$26.9 million (signed May 26, 2023; closing Dec 31, 2026).
- Unspent Balance: EC$26.6 million.
- Scope: Construction of regional craft, agricultural, and cultural hubs in Belle Vue, Troumaca, and Peters Hope / Peabodell.
South Rivers Health Center:
- Total Allocation: EC$16.2 million (signed May 26, 2023; closing Dec 31, 2026).
- Unspent Balance: EC$16.0 million.
- Scope: Construction of a modern community health facility
Explaining why drawdown balances appear low, the Prime Minister detailed the stringent disbursement procedures enforced by the Saudi Fund’s loan administration department.
Under the financing agreements, loan proceeds operate on a direct disbursement system:
Funds are never transferred directly into government bank accounts.
Payments are disbursed by the Saudi Fund directly to approved contractors, suppliers, and consultants only after physical work has commenced and validated invoices are submitted.
Of the EC$3.39 million expended to date, EC$2.96 million represents direct payments made by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government for upfront costs—including architectural designs, site preparations, and community consultations for facilities such as the Calliaqua Polyclinic, South Rivers Clinic, Redemption Sharps, and Stubbs / Paget Farm Health Clinic.
With less than three months remaining before the expiration of the first two financing agreements, the government has formally initiated processes to request timeline extensions from the Saudi Fund. Furthermore, the administration is restructuring the proposed cultural hubs to repurpose the funds for more immediate community impact while retaining core developmental goals.
The Prime Minister emphasized that execution bottlenecks are not isolated to Saudi-funded projects, revealing that similar delays affect projects funded by the World Bank. During recent annual meetings with World Bank officials in Bangkok, the Prime Minister pledged to establish hands-on executive oversight.
“I am not satisfied with it,” the Prime Minister told Parliament. “It will not be business as usual. These are funds that are available that need to be utilized for the objectives set out because they are to further the economic development of the country… If we don’t execute them, there is no point in us having the resources at our disposal.”
Under new directives issued to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, dedicated project personnel will be held accountable to strict performance targets, supported by regular mandatory reporting to track civil works progress.
