During a recent tour of Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club on Guana Cay, Abaco, Shane Gibson, Minister of Immigration, Labour and Training said he was disappointed to see that there were fewer Bahamians employed at the project than in December when he first visited the project.
During his visit the Minister learned that to date the work stoppage voluntarily undertaken by the developer pending a court decision has had a significant negative impact on the employment of Bahamians. A total of 38 Bahamians have been laid off from the project and another 52 new hires never materialised due to the suspension of work resulting in a total loss of 90 potential jobs for Bahamians.
“When you look at the type of investment and the type of money that was spent just on the clean up of the island alone I think that that this project is going to be good for Abaco and good for The Bahamas. I am only disappointed that this time that there are not as many persons employed as there were when I was here last and, of course, that is primarily because of the outstanding court case right now and it is really unfortunate that the persons who challenged it did so, because I don’t think they realised the sort of negative impact this would have on the many Bahamians who were employed here and who had to be laid off,” the Minister said.
The Minister, who was accompanied on the visit to Baker’s Bay by Attorney General, Allyson Maynard-Gibson and teams from both their Ministries, said his Ministry is committed to doing whatever it can to assist the project because of its potential to significantly impact employment in the Abacos. “To show you just how serious we are we brought the Director of Immigration Mr Vernon Burrows, the Director of Labour Mr Harcourt Brown and my Permanent Secretary Mrs Thelma Beneby. I thought it was important for all of us to come down because many times we sit around the table making decisions that will affect the lives of many individuals, both locals and expatriates, and in making those decisions we may not really appreciate what is going on in the various islands. I thought it was important for us to come and see first hand so when we are making those decisions we can be in a better position to better identify needs of the various projects. We are here today to do just that and of course we expect that our technical team will be interacting with you on a regular basis,” Mr Gibson said.
He further stated that he believed that at the end of the day, when resumed, the project would be very successful and many Bahamians would reap the benefits and rewards of it.
Mrs Maynard-Gibson said she was especially happy to visit the project having been associated with the signing of the Heads of Agreement in her former capacity of Minister of Financial Services and Investments. She indicated that the Government’s position is that the project remains the anchor project for North Abaco and said it has incredible potential not just for North Abaco but also for the entire northern Bahamas. Summarising discussions with the developer during the tour Mrs Maynard-Gibson said she was informed that the project could employ up to over 200 persons within a period of three months and even more after that. It is also estimated that when completed the project will employ more than 300 people directly, more than 100 in the ownership of stores in the marina village and potentially hundreds more in terms of entrepreneurial opportunities.
“That will have an incredible impact on the economy of Abaco. You’ve also indicated that you’ve paid careful attention to ensuring that the contracts that you will award are being awarded to Bahamian contractors.
I’ve already seen some of the real estate agents that are here – Bahamian real estate agents ensuring that any land sold here is at least a co-broking arrangement so that Bahamians will benefit.
“You’ve reiterated your commitment to Bahamian contractors building the homes and you’ve also indicated that you have and will continue to improve access to the beaches all along the entire project so as stipulated in the Heads of Agreement traditional beach access will be preserved,” she said.
The Ministers’ tour of Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club included lunch overlooking the Bay, a view of the project’s nursery of indigenous plants, and a tour of the main compound which presently comprises five plush wooden bungalows with bed, bath and spa and dining facilities set amidst lush restored native vegetation.
Following the tour Discovery Land Company partner Ed Divita said he was pleased to have both Ministers visit the property.
“It was a great opportunity for them to see first hand our continued commitment to the project and to The Bahamas that we entered into in our Heads of Agreement and some actual specific examples of our environmental work including the nursery where we are propagating native plants future replanting in the community.
“It’s also a great opportunity for them to meet some of our employees of which we have many great Bahamian employees who really enjoy working together with us and we enjoy working with them.” Mr Divita said.
Commenting on his expectations for the pending court ruling Mr Divita said he and his partners expect a favourable outcome. “We’re extremely optimistic and prepared to start in earnest to continue our commitment to developing the finest project, in our opinion, in the world here at Baker’s Bay at Guana Cay,” he said.
The Nassau Guardian
