In a fiery session of Barbados’ House of Assembly on Tuesday, Senior Minister Dr. William Duguid delivered a vehement rebuttal against corruption allegations leveled by Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne regarding the government’s HOPE Housing Project. The senior official dismissed the claims as “absolute nonsense” and “bold-faced poppycock” during heated exchanges that culminated in a parliamentary vote to correct a procedural error concerning land allocation.
The controversy emerged as legislators voted to rescind an earlier resolution approving the transfer of two land parcels at Sargeant’s Village, Christ Church, which Dr. Duguid attributed to an “administrative error” in the previously passed version. The minister, who holds a senior position in the Prime Minister’s Office, specifically addressed Mr. Thorne’s assertion that $60 million in state funds had improperly benefited private individuals, declaring these allegations entirely unfounded.
Dr. Duguid mounted a robust defense of the state housing program, which targets low-income residents through developments at Vespera Gardens in St. James, Concordia in St. Philip, and Pool in St. John. “HOPE has done a fantastic job,” the Christ Church West MP asserted, adding that “there have been no infelicities, as far as I am concerned.”
The former housing minister challenged the opposition leader to substantiate his claims, particularly regarding the allegation that “Cabinet took up $60 million of taxpayers’ money… to enrich private individuals.” Dr. Duguid provided clarification on the Pool development, explaining that while a contract was initially signed for 1,000 housing units, the HOPE board had only approved the purchase of 50 units. He emphasized that despite subsequent ratification of the larger contract, “not one cent” was actually disbursed.
Citing the Auditor General’s report on HOPE, Dr. Duguid noted the assessment concluded the organization had “achieved modest returns on its programmes” without any findings of corruption or failure. However, the infrastructure minister acknowledged the administration had made mistakes while pursuing aggressive housing policies to address growing demand.
Dr. Duguid contextualized the housing challenges by referencing natural disasters that disrupted construction efforts, noting that Hurricane Elsa and Hurricane Beryl had destroyed hundreds of homes across Barbados. The government consequently diverted resources from affordable housing initiatives to emergency repairs, addressing approximately 1,400 damaged properties at a cost of millions originally allocated for housing development.
“We are not perfect. Perfection is for the divine; people will make mistakes, and this, from what I can see, was an administrative error,” Dr. Duguid conceded in his closing remarks to the parliamentary assembly.