Questions about the cost of Barbados’ new BiMPay platform remain unanswered after Central Bank Governor Dr The Most Honourable Kevin Greenidge again declined yesterday to disclose the price of the project, despite repeated public interest in how much was spent developing the system.
Asked directly during a press conference at the Tom Adams Financial Centre, The City, how much the Central Bank had invested in creating and launching the national instant payment system, Greenidge refused to provide a figure, maintaining that the focus should instead be on the benefits the platform will deliver to the country.
“As much as you would like to hear, I ain’t putting no figure on this,” he said. “Everybody knows what matters. Are you going to pay for it? No. So why do you want to know it for? Read our financial reports and you’ll see it embedded in there.”
The Governor’s comments drew a swift response from University of the West Indies law lecturer and former Democratic Labour Party president Dr Ronnie Yearwood, who argued that the Central Bank remained accountable to the people of Barbados and therefore had an obligation to disclose the cost of the project.
In a social media post, Yearwood rejected the suggestion that the public did not need to know the figure.
“Let’s be clear, the Central Bank of Barbados is an agency of the people of Barbados and Government,” he stated.
Yearwood pointed to the extensive oversight powers exercised by the Minister of Finance, including appointments to the Bank’s board and senior management positions, approval of capital increases and the establishment of overseas offices.
“The Central Bank is therefore not an entity floating in the air on its own, with no accountability regarding its spending or management,” he wrote. (CLM)
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