Amid concerns about the oversight of anchor projects around The Bahamas, Minister of Financial Services and Investments Vincent Peet has disclosed the “recent” formation of an oversight committee in his ministry.
Bahamians in the public and private sectors have expressed concern over who is overseeing the anchor developments currently underway and who will oversee those in the pipeline.
For instance, environmental lobbies are livid over what they see as the rape of the land to make way for developments like Gerardo Capoﾒs Hilton property on Bimini, and the multi-billion-dollar Ginn development in West End, Grand Bahama.
Local ecologists, community leaders, politicians and citizens have all wondered whether the government is watching to ensure that developers are actually “following the rules.”
Minister Peet explained that the oversight committee is charged with ensuring that developers live up to the terms of the heads of agreements signed with The Government of The Bahamas.
“I have put in place an oversight committee, which is chaired by a senior consultant who is an attorney in the ministry with a team of officers whose job it is to review and audit all heads of agreements to see that the parties are living up to their obligations and their commitments,” he said.
“[The committee will] provide for me bi-monthly reports on progress or otherwise [on these developments].”
Minister Peet was, however, reluctant to divulge too much information about the committee.
“The chairman has been appointed for a few months now, but the other members of the body who are in house in my ministry ﾖ have just been added recently, but the chairman has been in place and [that person] has been doing initial work,” he said.
“[The committee] will now be able to do more work now that the full group is in place.”
He would not clarify what he meant by “recently,” and declined to identify the chairman, except to say the chairman is a Bahamian attorney employed as a consultant in the Ministry of Financial Services and Investments.
Last week Director of Investments Basil Albury announced that former managing director of Bahamasair and the National Insurance Board Paul Major was appointed as technical consultant to the Bahamas Domestic Investment Board.
Minister Peet is one of several Members of Parliament with anchor projects in their constituencies. In his case, it is the Chub Cay Marina and Resort on the Berry Islands, for which the formal opening of phase one happened recently. Minister Peet insisted that he is directly engaged in making sure that the developers of the Chub Cay facility live up to their obligations.
North Abaco MP and former prime minister Hubert Ingraham, leader of the FNM, addressed the issue of oversight while touring the third phase of the Kerzner International development on Paradise Island last week.
Mr. Ingraham called for the government to institute more rigorous oversight of the Atlantis development, as well as the other anchor projects throughout the country.
“When we did Phase Two, we didnﾒt have the technical expertise to monitor the construction. We engaged a very experienced foreigner to come to The Bahamas, whose only job was to be on [the] site, to ensure that they complied with the rules,” Mr. Ingraham revealed.
On at least one occasion that consultant brought construction to a halt because the developers were attempting to proceed in an unapproved manner, according to the former prime minister who said that the project was stopped in its tracks until the proper systems and protocols were in place.
“And thatﾒs the only way to do it,” Mr. Ingraham insisted. “I donﾒt know who is acting for the government on this project, but the government needs to have on this project skilled people who are here all day, every day ﾖ that [would be] their job.”
“And the same thing with most of these big projects in the Family Islands.”
Mr. Ingraham also addressed The Abaco Club at Winding Bay, an anchor property at Cherokee Sound, Abaco. British entrepreneur Peter de Savary lead the development of the golf and sporting retreat.
“There is nothing that they are doing or are proposing to do that will have a substantial impact on the environment,” Mr. Ingraham said.
He mentioned a letter written by Robert Sweeting, the South Abaco MP in whose constituency the development rests, to the government expressing concern about a proposal by the developers. Mr. Ingraham said he trusted the government has “taken account” of Mr. Sweetingﾒs concern.
FNM MP Alvin Smith who represents North Eleuthera praised the Valentineﾒs Resort and Marina on Harbour Island. Mr. Smith noted that the FNM had approved the project in principle while in office.
Valentineﾒs is advertising The Villas at Valentines, ranging from a half-million-dollar one bedroom “junior” model to a $1.4 million two-bedroom model on the market since July 5.
Mr. Smith said he was unaware of the structure of government oversight of the project.
“That is the only project that has had some significant impact on the unemployment situation in Eleuthera. They have hired quite a number of persons ﾖ theyﾒve been in operation for a number of years,” Mr. Smith said.
“And they have spent, according to what information they have given to me, in excess of $20 million [in the community]. All of the others that the government has mentioned, they are nothing but talk.”
Mr. Smith said Prime Minister Perry Christie had referred to the Valentineﾒs project as “an obscenity” while he was in opposition, but the Christie administration has approved “every one of those buildings that has been built. It was his government.”
“That same obscenity has been the most constant employer of persons over the last two and a half to three years,” Mr. Smith said. “Every morning you have [hundreds] of [mainland Eleutherans] going to Harbour Island to find employment. So with those numbers going to Harbour Island looking for work, that speaks for itself.”
MICAL MP V. Alfred Gray was unable to say who is monitoring the 10,000-acre I-Group/Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas development on Mayaguana ﾖ in his constituency – to ensure that the developers live up to the terms of their agreement.
However, Mr. Gray was enthusiastic about the job prospects for Mayaguanians.
“I can tell you that I have heard very little by way of complaints,” Mr. Gray said. “Mayaguana, having a population of under 300 people, by now is very close to full employment.”
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
