Mr. Christie assured that a “major” investigation was ongoing into the backgrounds of the individuals who are trying to purchase the Freeport resort, which has been closed for nearly two years.
“Comprehensive checks were made and there are in fact concerns that I have,” said Prime Minister Perry Christie, although he did not go into details about his concerns.
“I have always been concerned about the Royal Oasis for any number of reasons, therefore, I am paying particular personal attention to this particular transaction even though it is in the portfolio of the minister responsible for investments, and I am paying particularly close attention in concert with the Grand Bahama Port Authority.”
The prime minister also said he has “very directly and very clearly” put the buyers on notice about the concerns he has.
“There is absolutely no doubt that in the way forward we want to do whatﾒs best for Grand Bahama,” said Mr. Christie, who was responding to a question from High Rock MP Kenneth Russell about the status of the sale deal.
“And in that regard, Iﾒm paying again very close personal attention to the entire island of Grand Bahama, and I continue to repeat my unbridled optimism as to what I know is taking place and will be taking place with respect to Grand Bahama.”
Lehman Brothers, the propertyﾒs mortgage, signed the $40 million deal with World Investments Holdings (WIH), a U.S-based firm, several weeks ago. The group was put together just before the sale deal was signed, one of its principals confirmed to The Bahama Journal.
On Wednesday, Mr. Russell also asked the government whether it could say that one of the prospective investors had been indicted or was about to be indicted.
The prime minister said he would “endeavor to find out”. He added that he called the purchasersﾒ lawyer to find out whether all of his concerns had been addressed.
“We are very much abreast of developments,” Mr. Christie assured.
The prime minister also revealed that there has been a change in the makeup of World Investments Holdings.
“In other words, most certainly one of those who was a part of the purchasing team has fallen away and has communicated to the government that [he] has now fallen away and the others have now gone on without that particular personality,” he said.
“I continue to be concerned, and no one would be happier if all of our concerns disappear and everything is done on time, but I just want the country to know that there is no lapse in terms of our vigilance to ensure that we have a purchaser in place for the Royal Oasis and one that can positively impact the economy of Grand Bahama as early as it can be effected.”
The prime minister said there are some standards that the buyers will have to meet before the government gives the final approval for the deal, and he said this would include the group being able to prove that it has raised the money necessary for the purchase and the renovations.
The attorney for the buyers had told The Bahama Journal that the group was purchasing the property for $40 million, and one of the principals said weeks ago that all the money necessary for the purchase and renovations had been raised.
The resort was closed after it was badly damaged in Hurricane Frances. Government officials have said repeatedly that they are anxious for the property to be sold, and some people in the Grand Bahama community continue to say the closed resort stands as a symbol of the difficulties the Grand Bahamian economy continues to face.
Government officials had also said that they had had difficulties locating buyers because the resort is not located on beachfront property.
World Investments Holdings managed to beat the Ireland-based Harcourt group for the deal, which came several weeks after Prime Minister Christie had announced in the House of Assembly that the sale was about to happen any day.
The closure of the Royal Oasis resulted in more than 1,000 Bahamians losing their jobs and contributed to driving unemployment in Grand Bahama up from 9.3 percent in 2004 to 11 percent in 2005.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
