Government will pay Barack

Government stands by its commitment to pay debt-ridden small contractor Al Barack the $65 million it owes him.This promise was made yesterday by Acting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart at the final day of the Democratic Labour Party’s 55th annual general conference.Stuart also said all attempts would be made by Government to ensure what happened to the Vincentian-born Barack never happens to small contractors in Barbados again.The Acting Prime Minister said Government would pay special attention to small contractors, which had already been shown through a number of joint-venture projects, and the National Housing Corporation’s intended use of more than 20 small Barbadian firms to assist with its Housing Every Last Person (HELP) project.“The difficulty of access to credit from our lending institutions has posed challenges for our small contractors. But, houses have to be built and those businesses with easily accessible resources agreed to partner with the NHC.“We have insisted that, wherever possible, small contractors should be allowed to participate in this process,” Stuart noted. “We do not believe, that the fate which befell Barack Construction should befall any other small contractors in Barbados.“The rest is now a familiar but very sad history which this Government is committed to correcting.”He noted that small contractors and their families had to eat, pay bills, educate their children and meet all of the other obligations appropriate to their larger counterparts.“Many of these small contractors suffered when we languished in the political wilderness. They never disappeared from our radar. We will not let our small contractors down,” Stuart asserted.