The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said the government will travel to Grand Bahama later this month, with Prime Minister Philip Davis expected to make a national announcement outlining the future direction of the island amid renewed uncertainty surrounding the Grand Lucayan resort.

Mr Mitchell was responding to The Tribune’s report that employees at the Grand Lucayan were recently sent home without pay, deepening concern about the property’s stability.

While he said he could not confirm the accuracy of the pay complaints, Mr Mitchell suggested any issues would require careful assessment and could involve technical or due diligence matters.

Pressed on what action the government is taking, Mr Mitchell said discussions and assessments are ongoing.

“All I can say is it continues,” he said. “The actual development of it is a work in progress. I understand there’s some due diligence issues connected with pay so that might be, I’m not sure about the truth or otherwise of these reports in the press, but the government itself is going up to Grand Bahama on the 26th. The Cabinet is going to meet on Tuesday of next week.”

He said the Prime Minister intends to reset the national conversation on Grand Bahama once those meetings take place.

“The prime minister promises a relaunch of all the issues, which, he’ll announce to the country as to what’s happening with Grand Bahama. So you’ll know that. I would want to, you know, try and prescribe what he says in connection with it.”

Concerns among workers have intensified following claims that some employees who attempted to access National Insurance benefits were told that contributions had not been paid since June of last year.

Trade Union Congress president Obie Ferguson confirmed that he had received reports that workers were sent home, but said he was still seeking clarity on the circumstances.

Payment concerns at the resort first surfaced last month, when workers reported salary delays before overdue funds were paid days ahead of Christmas, fuelling uncertainty about the hotel’s future.

Mr Mitchell, however, rejected suggestions that the resort’s situation is beyond recovery, stressing that delays and complications are common in major development projects.

“Look, you know, I keep saying, life in the best of times is difficult and torturous, and you think that you’ve got things on a smooth trajectory, and then something happens,” he said.

He said lengthy timelines between government decisions and on-the-ground progress are not unusual.

“Look, as a cabinet minister, I realised long time ago, Obie Wilchcombe used to sit next to me in the Cabinet. You make a decision, for example, to build a school in this country and from the day the Cabinet makes a decision, it’s three years before the shovel gets in the ground.

“Why that is? That’s just how life is. So you try your best to get these things done and get them done expeditiously but, you know, things come in the way. That doesn’t mean that the project is dead. It just means that you have to keep at it.”