I would like to stay on the subject of transparency and communication in the tourism industry and the underlying speculation, misunderstanding and consequential harm that can result by not ensuring these virtues are carried out successfully.
In both major printed newspapers last Sunday was the announcement of an auction, set to take place the following Saturday of many “goods and chattels” of the Almond Beach Village which closed its doors, just two weeks short of a year ago.
Yet in another arm of the media just a few weeks ago, under the banner headline Buying back, we were told that of the four options on the table, “Prime Minister Freundel Stuart will sit with his Cabinet to agree to buy back Almond Beach Village and its brand for almost $110 million”.
The article went on, “The plan, being piloted by Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy, calls for a US$10 million refurbishment project, after which the sprawling 400-room facility will be turned over to former staff, who have submitted a plan to operate it.”
Purported logic
The purported logic behind choosing this fourth option was justified by the time the property could be out of service, citing the other three alternatives as ultimately taking too long to implement.
In the scheme of things, perhaps during the three months since these statements were made, so much could have changed. But surely it would be in the interest of all those it could effect, including severed staff, to explain to the public what is now going on.
If there was a serious intent to re-open the hotel in the shortest possible time, why would there be auctioning of the components that make it operational?
Again, it is a classic example of lugubrious communication, with not just the industry, but also taxpayers, who clearly would have to pay the bills, if Cabinet’s decision was invoked.
Harlequin debacle
On the Harlequin debacle, there has been nothing sudden about this whole sordid affair, as the political administration has been aware of it for years.
Millions of dollars of unpaid bills to contractors, suppliers, workers some $80 000 owed to the National Insurance Scheme and we have not even been told if there are other uncollected obligations, like land tax or VAT.
Loss of revenue
Added to this is the loss of possible revenue to the private sector, income tax and NIS contributions and corporation taxes.
This development is occurring when legitimate small businesses like ours are owed tens of thousands of dollars in outstanding VAT refunds for over two and a half years.
I hope that Government will learn something from this. Due diligence checks should be a prerequisite and all investor deposits should be held in escrow pending an actual title sale.
Once again, this needless damage could have been avoided entirely.
