Responding to the suggestion in the popular tune ﾓyou get swingﾔ, the Minister, who appeared on the Radio Love 97 programme ﾓIssues of the Dayﾔ, said the Bahamian people ﾓdid not get swing.ﾔ
She insisted that this was not a sweet deal for Kerzner, but both sides negotiated in their interest and the beneficiary will be the Bahamian economy, which will grow by five percent.
Minister Gibson, who was one of the lead negotiators for the new deal with Kerzner International, said there will be a ﾓrecord breakingﾔ impact on the countryﾴs Gross Domestic Product.
She claimed that GDP, as a result of the revised Kerzner investment, will increase by about $320 million and government receipts will go up to over $27 million, a 37 percent increase.
The minister said granting concessions to foreign investors is something that the Government of the Bahamas has always done and will continue to do.
ﾓThe concessions were peeled back down to 13 percent from almost 40 percent and in this round on the expansion to a billion dollars to just over 14 percent,ﾔ Minister Maynard-Gibson said.
The development, she said, is demonstrative of the confidence that developers like Kerzner have in the Bahamas. The minister also responded to the political taunts that have been thrown at the PLPﾴs administration about their red carpet treatment of investors, as opposed to the critical stance the party took while in opposition.
She insisted that nothing was given away.
ﾓWe are talking about construction jobs that commence next week on the marina village and the Harbourside timeshare. We are talking about permanent jobs increased by 3,000. Trust me, nothing was given away. We gave incentivesﾅto attract investments to benefit the Bahamian people,ﾔ she maintained.
Kerzner CEO Butch Kerzner, who was also a guest on the show, said the project will add $6 billion to the Bahamian economy.
The company, in a bombshell announcement on Monday, said it plans to double the initial $600 million it planned to invest for the third leg of the Paradise Island property.
Mr. Kerzner brushed aside any suggestion that the ambitious plans will place undue pressure on the Government of the Bahamas and its citizens.
ﾓThere is no negative pressure,ﾔ said Mr. Kerzner, flanked by the companyﾴs Vice President for Public Affairs Ed Fields. ﾓThe bottom line is that our project will increase the size of the economy by 5 percentﾅthe number of jobs we are creating and the spin off effectsﾅthere will be over the next 15 years $6 billion added to the Bahamian economy.ﾔ
In its World Economic Outlook released last month, the International Monetary Fund projected that the Bahamian economy would increase by 2.5 percent by the end of this year. The report has a marginally higher growth rate prediction for 2005.
According to the company, the now billion-dollar extension to the famed Atlantis Resort will generate an additional 3,000 new jobs, which represents a 50 percent increase over current staffing levels.
Government officials are also banking on 2,000 new construction jobs, an additional 1,000 indirect jobs that are expected to be created during the building period and 1,500 more positions that are planned to come on stream indirectly for entrepreneurs, transportation providers and other tourism workers.
ﾓThis is a positive addition to the economyﾅThis adds to the Bahamian tax base enormouslyﾅwhether itﾴs departure taxes, casino taxes, all the different things that happen hereﾅThis makes the pie much bigger for the government and they have more capital to do things that support all the Bahamian people,ﾔ Mr. Kerzner said.
Mr. Kerznerﾴs father, Sol, a gaming tycoon, took over the Paradise Island property 10 years ago under the company name of Sun International. Since then, in a recreation of the mythical lost city of Atlantis, the company has produced a breathtaking resort that has earned international recognition and prestige.
Last year, the younger Kerzner took over the CEO position from his father.
Prime Minister Perry Christie suggested this week that there is no disputing Kerznerﾴs worth to the countryﾴs tourism product and its impact on the governmentﾴs plans to make the Bahamas the best vacation destination in this part of the world.
ﾓThe real challenge for the Bahamas Government is to recognize the value of Kerzner to its tourism industry,ﾔ Mr. Christie told talk show host Wendall Jones on Sunday, the second anniversary of the governmentﾴs election to office. ﾓKerznerﾴs involvement in our economy has resulted in the redefinition of the tourism product in the Bahamas.ﾔ
The Director General of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace on Monday endorsed that sentiment.
While there is no disputing the value of the Kerzner investment, which is the largest private sector employer, there has been critical commentary about government concessions given to these kinds of foreign investors.
On Monday, Mr. Kerzner seemed reluctant to even call them concessions and said what it boils down to are the taxes on the casino revenue.
ﾠﾓAll we have ever asked from the government is to make us no worse off than our competitors in Las Vegas and New Jersey,ﾔ he said. ﾓIn Las Vegas, casino tax rates are 6 percent. We, with our concessions are paying 8 percent.
If we didnﾴt have the so called concessions, we would be in the mid teens; 15, 16 percent, we would be so uncompetitive with whatﾴs happening in Vegas and New Jersey.ﾔ
Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal
