When the newly elected New Democratic Party (NDP) government took power in St. Vincent and the Grenadines this past November, it inherited a tangled mess of uncompleted disaster recovery projects, and housing minister Andrew John has laid bare the full extent of the financial mismanagement that is derailing current reconstruction efforts. Speaking before the national Parliament on Tuesday, John detailed that he has brought forward evidence of widespread irregularities to National Security Minister St. Clair Leaock, centered on contracts awarded by the former Unity Labour Party (ULP) administration that were paid in full but never delivered.
All the misallocated funds were earmarked for a critical mission: rebuilding homes wrecked or leveled by two major natural disasters — the 2021 eruption of the La Soufriere volcano and Hurricane Beryl, which swept across the island chain in July 2024 and destroyed more than 90% of infrastructure on Union Island, part of the Grenadines island group.
The mismanagement of disaster recovery funds has left the new NDP administration scrambling to get stalled housing projects back on track. John explained that the previous government left millions of dollars in unpaid debts to building material suppliers, forcing the new leadership to renegotiate payment terms to secure the materials needed for new construction. One of the largest outstanding debts totals EC$1.6 million owed to East Caribbean Metal Industries Ltd. (EMIL), a local supplier. John added that the government also owes substantial sums to two Jamaican material firms, Tankweld and ARC Manufacturing Limited.
The disclosure came in response to a parliamentary question from Carlos James, a government senator who previously served as tourism minister and North Leeward MP during the ULP’s 25-year tenure that ended with the November 27 election. James had asked for a breakdown of planned housing projects and budget allocations by constituency for the current fiscal year. While John confirmed that his ministry has finalized budget projections, he outlined the crippling financial constraints blocking progress, noting that large portions of the 2026 allocated budget are already tied up in unfulfilled contracts from the prior administration.
“To our amazement, in some constituencies … it was discovered that contracts were paid in full … but there are no houses for these contracts,” John told lawmakers. He added that settling all outstanding inherited debts would drain the entire current housing budget, leaving no funds to start new builds: “Otherwise, it would have taken all the money, and you will not have any need to ask any question, because the answer (number of houses to be built this year) would have been zero.”
Despite the major setbacks, John said negotiations have been productive so far, with local hardware vendors agreeing to new terms and already beginning to deliver materials. His ministry has also opened ongoing talks with EMIL to resolve the EC$1.6 million debt, and John declined to release full sensitive financial details publicly to keep negotiations on track.
The situation is most urgent on Union Island, where John revealed that nearly all pre-delivered reconstruction materials were distributed without any formal accountability. “Not even a nail was left in Union Island. So we basically are starting from scratch in Union Island,” he said. The minister added that the new government has already restarted a local warehouse on the island to support recovery efforts, and the first shipments of new, properly accounted for materials are scheduled to arrive starting next week. Land availability for planned steel-frame housing remains an additional challenge on Union Island and other smaller Grenadine islands, while unpaid debts to independent truckers have also slowed progress, with some payment claims lacking any formal documentation to verify work completed.
John concluded his address by reassuring residents of Union Island that the new administration prioritizes their recovery and is working to resolve the legacy issues inherited from the previous government.