What we need is for the government to not govern by stealth. The majority of Bajans have no problem with development, what we want is transparency. We want slices of the pie to be shared.
[caption id="attachment_52288" align="aligncenter" width="610"]
Click on the image to read Hyatt’s PR report[/caption]
See the artists impression/architectural drawing on the SB Architects FB page.
Pay particular note to the walkway over the road and what I assume is a conference facility.
It’s a lie
Added by Emmanuel Joseph on August 19, 2016.
Saved under Budget, Local News, Politics
0Against a backdrop of claims that it has not received town planning permission despite the recent public signing of an agreement, the country was told this afternoon that construction on the much-maligned 15-storey Hyatt Centric Resort Hotel planned for Bay Street, St Michael will start in six weeks.
In a passionate defence of the multi million dollar project during debate of the 2016 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals this afternoon, Minister of International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss dismissed comments by Member of Parliament for The City Colonel Jeffrey Bostic that the hotel had not been given planning approval.
“I heard the Honourable Member for the City get up and say today that the Hyatt project did not have Town Planning permission . . . and Madame Deputy Speaker if we in the Government side do not stop these mistruths in their tracks . . . they go out there, and not only domestic investors, but regional and international investors ask, what kind of society are we running in Barbados,” Inniss said.
He suggested that it would not have made sense for an announcement to be made about the construction of the hotel without first applying for permission.
The minister said he had been furnished with the facts, while emphasizing that the Opposition members were lying.
Inniss revealed that the hotel developers had applied for permission and it was approved with conditions.
“I believe they have appealed some of the conditions and that matter is also being addressed at tine highest level,” he said.
He also suggested that Bostic – who had earlier said he supported the project but had some questions – had been misled by some of his Opposition colleagues when he “mistakenly” stated that an environmental impact study had not been conducted.
“No other physical development project in Barbados has had as many studies undertaken by the applicant, as had been done for what we call the Hyatt project. They had a heritage impact study done, which looks at what is taking place within the physical environs in terms of the impact upon the heritage situation, given the fact that we have a UNESCO qualification,” the Member of Parliament for St James South stated.
He also took a shot at social activist David Comissiong who has written to Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins demanding that the application for Town and Country Planning permission to construct the proposed 15 story property be subjected to “a most rigorous and comprehensive” environmental impact and assessment procedure, including a social impact assessment study.
In an August 4, 2016 letter to Cummins, Comissiong also requested that the people of the neighbouring communities be consulted in town hall meetings and through relevant sociological surveys and assessments before permission is granted for the controversial project.
“Who says that that has not been done is totally misguided, including a former Democratic Labour Party member, PEP [People’s Empowerment Party] member, who only when he graduated from law school recognized he was black – but when he was at Harrison College he was a white boy . . . Comissiong, whoever, now recognize that he black, all of a sudden talking about heritage study. . . That was done,” the Minister of International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development declared.
He added that an environmental impact assessment study, a traffic study, a geotechnical survey, a marine survey and a geo-physical study were conducted.
Two days after developers Mark Maloney and James Edgehill signed an agreement with Hyatt’s Senior Vice President Pat McCudden on July 27 for the construction of the US$100 million Hyatt Centric Resort, the Barbados National Trust, which said it had been acting as advisor on the project to the Town & Country Planning Department, disclosed that the project had not yet been granted planning approval.
“As far as I am aware, planning approval for this development has yet to be granted. The Barbados National Trust has been acting in an advisory role to Town & Country Planning since last year in respect of the application to develop the Bridgetown site, and this work is on-going,” National Trust President Peter Stevens told Barbados TODAY at the time.
“Our main concern with any proposal in this sensitive area, is how the development may affect the status of our World Heritage site and our ability to development the vitally important heritage niche within our economy,” Stevens added, as he cautioned that these issues were especially critical when the proposed structure was likely to become the most dominating feature on the skyline.
Today, Inniss disclosed that about 500 Barbadians would find work in the initial stages of the project.
“When that project gets started, hopefully in six weeks time, it means that at least 500 Barbadians will gain employment in this country between now and January . . . The same poor working class families that you get out here and keep so much noise that they are being down trodden and don’t have a chance to move up, they are the ones who will gain employment,” Inniss said.
He complained that the “these reckless” statements about the project left the impression that Barbados was “some sort of banana republic” and scared off investors.
“You really believe that the State would be so irresponsible as to go and grant permission to anyone to construct a project of that size without having the appropriate surveys done? We must have more faith in ourselves. But when you go out there and give the impression that these things happen, you are wrong and misleading,” the minister warned.
Awful if that is really design!! Imagine that in a historic area.
Ref the “presentation”, what jumps out at me is the number of hotels and rooms to be built in Carlisle Bay–a concrete necklace is about to hang around the neck of Bay Street. Also a lotta long time with numbers, but nothing about training to ensure Bajans fill senior posts in all these new hotels. Like I always say, government policy is too disjointed and lacks strategy.
Here trying to figure out how the race of DC would have an impact on what documents were available. Tongue in cheek: Is there two sets of books? One for white Bajans and another for black Bajans?
leave it to you Enuff , your ideal Bay street would be one of rundown buildings and stagnated economic conditions
Question Enuff does it galls you that an area where there are mostly poor living within that jurisdiction. does it bother you Enuff that these poor people could one day awaken and look out their backdoors and see a Bay street a place that was once old tattered and forgotten being alive and prosperous with the possibly that there are open windows for them to a better future
ac
My ideal Bay Street is one where new developments exhibit a relationship with its surroundings, whether streets or buildings, and enhances the character of Bridgetown especially given its World Heritage designation.You haven’t a clue about what you speak. Not a clue! So go bark up another tree.
I find it a tragedy that as a nation we continue to entrench ourselves by continuing to place our eggs in one basket: tourism.
Rest assure, the large hoteliers with interests in so many countries will put pressure on our government to achieve as many concessions as they deem necessary to increase their profit margins. There is no guarantee that locals will benefit in terms of employment as they will have to compete with foreign nationals. Likewise, we know that our local businesses will not be part of the supply chain.
It only took one crazy “home-grown” muslim fanatic to detonate the Tunisian economy with his casual disregard to human life. The Tunisian economy is similar to the Barbados economy in that it relies heavily on tourism. It may not take a natural or a planned catastrophe to hole our economy. Let’s say that our foreign investor friends loses interest in our country and decides to “upsticks and goes”.
Take a look at how international manufacturers have moved around the world in order to maximise their profit margins.
@ David,
Take a look at the table below.
@Exclaimer
The information is old but what it confirms is the extent Barbados depensd on tourism if you use contribution to GDP or exports mesurements.
Enufff i rather bark up your tree especially seeing the conditions of that area and you now pretending as if the heritage surroundings are the sole reasons upon which bay street should hang it livelihood for economic survival …ruff rufff
We sometimes wonder why people like AC get into these discussions when he clearly is a serious political YARD FOWL to the higest degree. Here we are discussing the pros and cons of this monstrosity and he is liken to a donkey with blinkers that his master point him in one direction and that is all he knows.
Just pay some attention and you will definitely know the lies perpetrated of the Bajan population from these politicians believing that we are all blind and foolish at the same time. Remember the saying “you can fool some of the people ….”?.
We are living in a society where the citizens are agitating against a specific sure to fail project and the politicians and their lackeys fail to see what is staring them in the face. They may see but not understand what they do see.
What we are seeing and hearing is a bundle of lies. Lies all the way and for what purpose does these lies serve other than filling deep pockets and fooling the gullible population who they have already pulled the proverbial woll over their eyes.
Think about the consequences of these projects that is supposed to bring supposedly forex to our shores, but in effect he forex remains in the originating countries from people using the all-inclusive vacations. Are we going to pull another Sandals here? Ask Mr Sealy and his buddies.
@ bajan yardie…. this is a free country a.. hole and i can get into any discussion i choose of my own liking what is it with you…have u become the BU socialist police with a need to grind freedom of speech to a halt get lost u socialist pimp and remember that in a democracy the Constitution gives all and sundry a right to free speech you knuckle head Think on those things
Always wondered why Maloney was given the contract to restore the Empire Theatre, now we know. There was a bigger plan in the works.
Bim is a Banana Republic with one single product: tourism. This error is not corrected but repeated.
The all-inclusive-model simply means the tourists fly in, go to their hotel, stay their and fly out. These hotels also get every tax concession and concession on foreign currency and imports. The management and every high paid job are reserved for foreigners, of course.
Where is the advantage for Barbados? Some jobs in the hotel to clean and to serve. Reminds me of a plantation.
@ Tron
Reminds me of a plantation.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
It is worse than a eff-ing plantation….. Those old Bajans could barely read and write… they could do no better – at pain of lynching, beating, torture and death….
These modern day brass bowls all have university degrees …and are actually begging the albinos to PLEASE come over and enslave their asses…. we actually GIVE them tax concessions in exchange for making us slaves…
Shiite man!! we are so hard-up that we brought in a Jamaican Massa at GREAT expense to mistreat our ‘highly educated’ brass bowl graduates ..who he has hired for the menial jobs…
apparently we were HIGHLY impressed with the way he had previously pissed all over Paradise beach….
It is even more inexplicable than a grown, intelligent man – finding himself attracted to another man’s ass …. and not being TOTALLY ASHAMED of the fact.
Such shiite situations are called CURSES….
Fully explained in Isaiah 3….and are the INEVITABLE consequences of dissing spiritual Laws..
So don’t bother looking for rational explanations….or solutions.
@ Bush Tea
Indeed, given that tourism is the only true driver of Barbadian economy, the project “emancipation by education” was a complete failure.
There are so many other opportunities, but government and society are hypnotized by tourism like Mowgli by Kaa.
@Tron
A good comment. Tourism is > 40% of our GDP and all of our major companies are sold off to foreigners. Where does this state of affairs leave us?
I am surprised to see Bajans talking about tourism as a form of “slavery”.
When the foundations of the tourist business were being built in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, comparisons were made between sugar, manufacturing and tourism. The general feeling was that, because cutting cane was backbreaking work, and factory work was almost as exhausting, choosing the alternative of working in an air conditioned hotel or a beach was a no-brainer.
For ambitious Bajans, there are plenty of opportunities to study hospitality administration in North America or the UK, work for a time in a US branded hotel and then return home with the credentials for a managerial position in the industry.
Why all the complaining.
@chad99999
My complaint is simply that tourism has never made any country rich. In Europe for example, the tourist destinations are within the belt of “Latin Europe” (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece), all countries with very high unemployment rates.
Tourism is good as a supplement, indeed, but toxic as the mainstay of economy.
Here is the editorial of the Barbados Advocate, some government’s mouthpiece.
http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/columns/editorial-conundrum-foreign-investment-0
There are very few countries that are rich. However, France, Hawaii, Florida, and Nevada are rich and do end heavily on tourism.
In Barbados, financial services supplement the income from tourism.
The talk of investing in tourism by the government begins and ends with hotels and increasing the number of rooms.
Nowhere have I seen any talk of investment in the infrastructure and heritage of the country.
When all these super hotels are finished they will charge the same exorbitant rates as the current crop do, expecting tourists to be blind to the competing offers around. Barbados is/has priced itself out of the market.
The average European tourist wants 3 things in the winter. Sea,Sand and Sun and Barbados does not have the monopoly on these.
Look at the tourists that flock to the Dom Rep,it has become a German destination of choice.Why do they go there rather than come here? When you realise that 14 days all inclusive costs substantially less than 14 days room only in Bim you have your answer.
The new kid on the block is Cuba,growing in popularity in leaps and bounds.
Those tourists that come here in the hope of a glamorous destination with wall to wall beautiful celebs are met by a surly immigration that can take an age, a rude customs that has abandoned the green channel system, a country full of abandoned and decaying buildings, appalling roads,garbage on every corner and a customer service attitude that would bankrupt any business in the civilised world.Heaven help them on a Sunday as all tourist sites will be closed.
Those tourists that want to see some of our heritage must be baffled by the lack of interest shown in the preservation of our history. Historical buildings decaying daily.The chain dock,a truly unique site rotting away. The Garrison area with the exception of the Savannah is an eyesore.
Should a tourist venture out to visit our beaches he is confronted by car parks that resemble the surface of the moon,just look at Pebbles, I swear that trucks have disappeared in those holes!
I could go on and on but I dream that one day the powers that be will wake up and realise that to attract visitors you have to make the destination attractive and give value for money.They will realise that Barbados is not the only island in the Caribbean. Our sun is not brighter,our sea is not clearer,our climate is not better,only our sand is superior but we all know what happens when you build on sand.
@bookworm
When government dissolved the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) to replace with the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI) and the Barbados Tourism Product Inc (BTPI) the idea was to bring a focus on the ‘infrastructure’ or product. Not sure what the BTPI is doing under Dr.Kerry Hall. To your point we hear a lot from William Griffith who heads the BTMI.
>
The advocate editorial i concur! it is clean ! fair and precise absent of political attachments to confuse and divide , What most is witnessing is political outburst associated to devilish hand wringing tied to certain interest who are acting out a desired script in broad daylight to burn and bury .
Very few if any would participate or approved ant business that enters a free and open market that does not follow the rule of law.
In the case of the Hyatt it is not the message that offends but those who are delivering the message that places the message on a direct path of expulsion which is worrisome
David August 20, 2016 at 11:26 PM #
Blighty is warm at the moment but as soon as the cold has arrived I will be back.
I am surprised at 40%,as I thought it was more but that is bad enough.
The reference to Puerto Rico is apt as we place more and more of our eggs in the fickle basket of tourism.
Our tourism future should be restricted to a couple high end as presently in existence,B&Bs and local rooms.
We have to diversify as a matter of urgency for this smal island state is in a parlous state according to a former PM and we are staring a devaluation in the face as per the Hoyos column today.
@Vincent
Nothing like home sweet home eh?
Puerto Rico is an interesting case, it has all the infrastructure for tourism we aspire as an island, however it is riddled with debt. Sounds familiar?
Barbadians have the opportunity to force these lazy politicians to meet with the people to discuss important decisions which will affect our future. This is why the independent thinking class who have been largely silent in Barbados need to stepup.
yes we have to diversify , the question/s is how can we do it with out the proper funding available ,,Barbados high debt is number one priority and and also a reason without reach for govt accessing the funding to do that which is necessary to diversify the economy . Most speak as if all the necessary components are in place that would give or contribute to a quickness and resolution of Barbados economic woes giving way to the acceleration of growth towards productivity and diversity
the first question is where does govt get the funding
It is clear that David Commisong is going to be heading to Court for a injunction based on the Mia’s correctly stated position, the duty to consult. This project is not going anywhere quickly as its going to spend the next 12 months in on out of Court fighting applications for injunctions. Simply removing the Chief Town Planner (promoting him out of the way) will not work for the Court system as this is harder to manipulate.
The government continues to miss the plot by retreating to the vanilla argument the need for FDI etc. This is not the issue at all as the Cahill Energy advocacy action has shown. Barbadians have started to become more strident about issues they feel offend their interest. It has come after years of being loyal to what government/politicians have done and the adoption of social media to mobilize and share ideas etc. If the government wants to remain in the old world then do so at its peril.
Many Barbadians who are railing against the Hyatt project have no problem whatsoever with FDI. They are asking that the development is planned to define what the people see as defining a Bajan landscape, transparency/governance – why the same people benefiting from these mega deals. What does it mean given the close relationships between principals at Vision and some politicians in government etc.
On Sun, Aug 21, 2016 at 12:09 PM, Barbados Underground wrote:
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ac August 21, 2016 at 8:06 AM #
“yes we have to diversify, the question/s is how can we do it without the proper funding available…”
Shiite……..you still DON’T KNOW what it MEANS to diversify an economy?
ok steupse
This leader of development is no leader but a follower of nonsense.Trying to build a resort island out of Barbados is nonsensical.All these stellar numbers in a relatively stable international climate have not yielded the fruit desired for a population from basic health services to public transport.Ask the developer if half the population sick and the other half cant get to work what would he or she do?The answer to this problem of development is very simple.Change the economic diet and forget the invasive surgery.
@bajanyardie”are we going to pull another sandals.? additionally we are going to clean up baystreet..Getting rid of that old rusty dump with outdated landscaping which has been depending on a long stretch of real estate for its survival for many years who are wwe to stand in its way towards progress
Mr. Comissiong intentions are suspect since his voice of activism for a environmentally friendly baystreet has laid dormant for years until this most welcomed opportunist moment came.A moment that reveals plenty associated to his desire to pounce heavily on political gains
@ Artaxerxes
You must forgive the doufus
Ever if the definition were to be as big as parliament building she could not comprehend it
My chant has been for diversification into ICT.
I am not one to fool myself about the ease of diversifying when one has limited resources but, with US $236 million wasted in Edutech and $27m to pay out Baloney for the unoccupied Grotto building it becomes obvious where successive governments have failed the people of Barbados
“Economic diversification is high on the policy agenda of GCC countries, evidenced by the billions of dirhams earmarked for that goal. Like elsewhere, the urge for economic diversification in the GCC is driven by the desire to lessen economic dependency on any particular industry, especially the oil and gas industry.
This concern is widely shared among small countries that are very cautious not to fall prey to the “banana republic” syndrome, that is becoming overly dependent on the export of a single product or tormented by the booms and bust of natural resources revenues.”
The steps to diversification are tedious and serious and speak to requirements which our two tribes of monkeys DO NOT HAVE!!!
Did you ever play chess?
I once bought a Kasparov board game donkey’s years ago and that game beat me for years at its expert level until one day, I beat it after 1000 games.
Imagine playing Suki King online Artaxerxes for a $25 US fee during “An Evening with the King ” Draughts contest hosted by the ICT arm of the Barbados Investments and Development Corporation?
Imagine if an outreach were made to *** a Bajan working in *** programming their *** games? to program a version of Suki The King Draughts like that Kasparov antiquated board?
You see what I mean by eclecticism and extrapolating?
But each day them would give Dr Basil Springer or some other time bound scvunt $1 million dollars to run similarly outdated initiatives like the James Corbin Cricket board game, a colossal failure and waste of money which that clown Jeremy Stevenson Benefited from.
Yes not one of these scvunts have sought to programmatically copy the batting skills of the now 80 year old sir Garfield or Brian Lara or any other stellar champion whose contributions to the world of Virtual Reality Sports will be priceless.
We shall always be he wears of wood and drawers of water, recently descended from the trees, long live Kadooment
Again another plagiarism follows from an IMF report on Diversification Programming
“Following dismal results in the first two quarters of 2014, Peru’s government was forced to take measures to boost domestic demand and offset the dependence on mining exports while Australia still does not have a diversification policy in place;”
“The GCC have been targeting development of industries like infrastructure (Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain), promoting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (Kuwait and Oman) and establishing strong educational and healthcare networks.”
“While these have made huge strides in economic and social development, more efforts are needed to improve skill sets of the population as well as engaging domestic populations in the private sector;
In Saudi Arabia, the contribution of non-oil GDP is rising and grew by 5.3% in real terms compared to the negative 1.0% growth in real oil GDP according to the IMF in 2013”.
“The government is making considerable efforts to lay the groundwork for further diversification by upgrading infrastructure, strengthening education and skills, boosting access to finance for SMEs, and improving the business environment.”
Today, a 12 year old at a wedding party in Turkey, blew up themselves and several others as did the bomber in Tunisia, another one horse tourism defendant economy.
The results for tourism as a result of this incident in Tunisia speak for themselves yet, in the face of terrorist actions and financial fallouts, it seems incredible that the effort expended on this PowerPoint presentation, has not attended any other national diversification initiatives for 50 years
But then again, to diversify tourism, the white man’s baby, one would need another white man to lead that charge, wouldn’t one?
And in the absence of a Baloney or Bizzy “locked on to something other than tourism, or construction for tourism”, de cuntry is doomed to the one man horse!!
Long live Kadooment come leh we wuk up pun it…
” Long live Kadooment come leh we wuk up pun it…”
Where is the Ministry’s Tourism Development Plan?
Searched the Plan for key words and they were not found. However, I love the cover illustration. Compare it with the artist’s impression of Hyatt. I tell wunna we confused!!!
Just to continue with that dead horse called “Diversification by Design ” that I am riding.
Here is another plagiarized text on Diversification Initiatives some of which have worked and others which have not.
“While some variation exists across countries, economic diversification and development efforts are geared toward boosting the human capital of nationals and developing high-productivity industries and services that require high-skilled labor.
Although there is no clear recipe for success, policies being implemented draw on international experience and include the following:
1.Stepped-up investments in education, including in science and technology and technical and vocational education
2.Development of specific sectors and industries (for example, the financial sector in Bahrain, airlines and logistics in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, downstream petrochemicals and mining in Saudi Arabia, and the SME sector in Oman and other countries)
3.Investments in physical infrastructure, and strengthening of the legal and regulatory environment to reduce the cost of doing business (including through free trade zones)
4.Encouragement of entrepreneurship and innovation through improved access to information, communication technology, and finance, and greater spending on research and development-
Diversification which attends the “natural progression” of an industry would, in the case of our one horse tourism based economy be esconsed in things like Kadooment which is a direct derivative of that same one horse mentality.
Now Diversification by Design would for example aggressively pursue a Health Tourism Strategy and, more specifically, create a niche product and service in this arena.
For example, de ole man would approach the government of Cuba, through David Commisiong? De Communist who”wanna bring down Barbados”, dem is Sand Nigger and AC words, and secure a specific cadre of eye specialist doctors.
Now wunna might rightly say what is so special about dat Diversification by Design idea, whu Cuba does do dat right now.
And wunna would be right but here is where de ole man variant would bring innovation, namely by approaching de government of *** and securing funding in their cutting edge laser surgery equipment and promote this product as part of the all inclusive package of Barbados.
Needless to say that, having written this here, that idea dun get teif, as with others of de ole man suggestions, but the point that I am making is that neither the DLP or the BLP has ever thought of, nor advanced a diversification strategy which, irrespective of our limited natural resources, has pursued an aggressive coterminous HR strategy that leverages what is available locally and regionally, and please do not talk about them waste foops at CARICOM or the Caribbean Export Development Agency.
We need thinkers and ideas and an environment that is conducive to creating new spaces for Forex generation.
I am positive that Jamaican readers will maximize this enhanced Health Tourism idea since Billy and Uncle Lookup Richard “I can see spirits” Sealy can’t even run a coupon program properly and well loverige is all bout getting back he VAT money.
We are truly effed
Bay street was once a little bustling little town , that was when the hospital was there and the activity around the hospital meant that people from all over the island would have no other choice but to come to that area which gave the small businesses much needed support but after the hospital closed the hustle and bustle slowly dried up and what we see now is the aftermath from a lack of economic support which before was funneled through by local support
The fact being that bay street was exempt as part of the financial planing progress during a period when the plans were being made to remove the hospital no one thought or cared about the negative financial aspect of baystreet the mainstay of removing the hospital was of much more importance , a financial solution for baystreet was not given a first or second thought and it seems that in 2016 the financial wherewithal and economic survival would be once again secondary to any real progress or hope by which bay street and its surrounding areas can survive
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Bookworm,
You are right. But I am sick and tired f saying they should get out of the one-dimensional way of thinking and think the unthinkable.
We badly need a leisure sector, tourists come the country and during the day they are in the sea, in the evening they are in the hotel bars and restaurants. People do not come 3000 miles to visit Bajan restaurants or bars. We need a leisure sector …..can’t the politicians and senior civil servants red simple English….a leisure sector.
We must get tourists out of the hotels and in the community to spend more money. Plse voters, get rid of this government to save our nation.
They have gone beyond incompetent, they are buffoons.
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