Dr. Jerry Thorne resigned as Chairman of the BTII
Given the deep pockets involved in this matter BU is threading lightly on this matter. Below is a document which provides analysis carried out – as we understand it – by a certified chartered accountant who was a member of the technical evaluation committee of the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. Contrary to public statements, the project will end up costing US$15.1 million a year for 25 years and which equals 25 x US$15.1= US$ 377.5 M x 2.0 for Barbadian currency = BDS$755 million.
The DLP was horned the BLP, they have now not only engage to Bannister with the announcement of the Pierhead Marina, but now they are married to him by also giving him the new Cruise Ship Project. Is this the same man that was with VECO and was lambasted by the same DLP only a few months ago? Has he been converted? Are the grapes on the money grape vine so sweet that they just can’t resist picking them? Is anyone taking the struggling bajan public in consideration? Lord have mercy,it perceived it took the BLP 14 yrs to fill their pockets with the bajan people money. now this party, seems not tocare about a second term in office for by then, the fatted calf would be so divided that they would all be multi-millionaires. I want ALL politicians to know, there is a Judgement Day coming and they ALL have to give account for their doings whether good or bad.
Interestingly, Global Destinations seems to removed the New Cruise Ship Pier project from their website within the last 48 hours, I wonder why??
Wonder if Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines had something to do with that, maybe they were NOT involved at all and its just another gimmick to convince the bajan public..
Rose Art wrote “Interestingly, Global Destinations seems to removed the New Cruise Ship Pier project from their website within the last 48 hours,”
No they haven’t. You just don’t know how to find it.
hint. it has a certain cache if you add Sugar Point to the search.
Something smells fishy in the marina and the pier. How can you “curse” the comapny that built the prison, then rely on the man that brought them here to engage in two even larger projects. All without the scent of an explanation. Transparency my arse.
hants if it in google cache but not live currently on the site it can be deemed removed from website.
http://www.landdesign.com/work/projects/on-the-boards/Sugar-Point.aspx
is currently a dead link. while google cache show how it was.
Anthony
up to Friday, Global Destinations had listed the Cruise Ship project in Barbados as “coming soon”. Today no mention is made of the project on its site. Has Both LandDesign and Global Destintations pulled out or just laying low?
@ Observing
What smell fishy what??!!
…unless you mean shark.
Maybe this is why we have seen no prosecutions or even basic investigations into the scandals that were so meticulously exposed here on BU during the BLP’s feeding time.
And please note that it was the bloggers who exposed these scams NOT the DLP. (they just jumped on the bandwagon)
Now, under the influence of the SAME public servants who were the deal-makers in the first place, they have come to see the ‘wisdom’ of BOLTS and of making a quick fortune in hard currency and maybe buying a plantation too.
Here is the gravy…..
Even if they loose the next election, do you think that the BLP will investigate or prosecute them…..?? Yea! Right after the devil installs Air Conditioning in Hell…
Maybe this is a no-brainer for a political shark….
Bush Tea
yuh does mek me sick (LOL) …but only because I have to admit that you may be right!!! Imagine I was talking to some people in the know about this marina/cruise ship projects and if one was to believe everything that was said, you would have to say that Barbados is one of the most corrupt places in the Caribbean! The politicians bad but the civil servants worse! Imagine a senior officer of the Town and Country Planning Office is on the payroll of one of the major construction firms and a member of Cabinet gets large monthly payments from an executive of a company to promote condominium resort developments on the coast. Don’t think the other side is any set of sweet breads either! It is said that a “piece” of every Government procurement contract use to pass through a certain man’s hands (WIV know him well) on behalf a another certain big maguffy who hoping to get back his pick in about 2 years.
Wuhloss, wuh to do? Pray?!!
@ Ping Pong
LOL!! it must have hurt to admit that Bush Tea is very likely to be right nuh…!!? Ask David who was one of the original bloggers on the ABC underhandedness…
Many of us also hope that the bushman’s pessimistic theories and hypotheses about Granny Earth (formerly known as Mother Earth) are wrong, and bare foolishness…. (even BT LOL…)
…but unfortunately, Bushie has not been wrong for quite some
time now… so the dog dead.
If it is any consolation, Every known country have the same problem. In the US of Obama, after promising to end costly wars; talk to enemies; curb reckless spending; and bring common sense to the white house, your friend President Obama now oversees more wars, killing even his Pakistani friends with Predators every day.
He even kept Bushes war leaders as advisers…. did he think that they would give him different advice? or did he have NO CHOICE – when faced with the REALITY of the wickedness of this world?
The malady is terminal my friend…. when you come to accept this fact, Bushie will tell you the good news…
Let me be the first to remind you that after SMI Infrastructure Inc’s proposal was submitted and which purported to be joint-venture with RCCL, the same RCCL removed some of their ships from Barbados for the coming summer and winter. Does that make sense to you?
No it doesn’t because RCCL is not a part of any proposal with Gline Bannister or RCCL, someone is cleverly using the good name of RCCL to give legitimacy what would otherwise stink to high heaven.
Good friend of mind told me that in order to advance the designs for both the Pierhead Marina and the New Cruise Pier, SMI aka Gline Bannister requires the GOB to pay to him BDS$68.0 million dollars to advance the design, even before he can establish that either project is viable or what the total cost of the projects are going to be.
WHY WHEN IT COMES TO SMI aka GLINE BANNISTER, GOB ALWAYS DOES THINGS ASS BACKWARDS, WHY, CAN THERE BE ANOTHER REASON??
Can some one post the cache link please?
one also has to wonder why are they spending 2-3 time the original budget for the construction. Any ordinary committee would have told the such bidder to come back again if they entertained the notion at all and declared no winner to the contract.. Now onto the tower kellman wants built in st.lucy with the airport. I would guess the contract would go to smi from what has gone on so far.
Bush Tea
Is this the good news to which you refer?
http://www.ebiblefellowship.com/may21/
David
isn’t the link that which Hants posted on April 22 at 10:16? Someone should save that page before Google deletes that too!
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:0YOCnbDozSAJ:www.landdesign.com/work/projects/on-the-boards/Sugar-Point.aspx+global+destinations+sugar+point&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&source=www.google.ca
Please view a snapshot of the page which has been deleted HERE. When the Google Bots indexed this website sometime soon the cache link will vanish. Good catch Rose Art.
with both project the net outstanding external debt will rise by about 500 million, with interest payment taking it to over 1 billion in payback.
I can forsee Barrack kicking up a huge fuss soon saying how they can build them and not pay him back. I still wonder why the design has no sea wall. I would think any cruise ship operator would include one so as to shelter the ship from any rought seas.
David I already saved the page for future “reference”.
I am surprised that the page was “removed” from the Web site.
What is there to hide?
I expect the BLP will not be too critical because they may want the privilege of finishing what they started.lol
Why are we forgetting that Kelly has asked for an airport?
We are on a roll here, lets hit it out of the ballpark.
@Rose Art
If only we can get this same expansive behaviour of capital outlay directed at building out an alternative energy plant!
The more we learn about SMI role in the projects the model used is very similar to 3S and the flyover project.
SMI is a small company which pretends to have the expertise but will be outsourcing all the services required to complete the projects.
As the ‘middle man’ it is a sweet deal.
Anthony, Cruise ships do not stay in port in rough weather. They sail to calmer waters and avoid bad weather.
well they already said going to bring some stings from lagana. for the pier head contract.
Who is LandDesign? Is it shop front for someone in Barbados?
I think the investigators in Barbados should be put on alert, to start digging as it is likely this shop front is playing critical part of the non-sense.
Just read that Kellman wants to build a tower in St.Lucy.
CN tower in Toronto is 1800 feet tall.
Exactly what does he have in mind?
who knows. kellman always has grand plans. don’t know if we can finance them. maybe one 500ft tall ?
Kellman has also told the BTI that he wants a cruise ship pier in St. Lucy, maybe Barbados could get a deal from SMI if he gets that one too.
What about the Barbados Tourism Investment Coastal Master Plan advertised by BTI less year, when does the Cabinet intend to give this consultancy engagement to SMI Infranstructure Solutions Inc?
I smell Casino gambling, does anyone else?? Think about it and it should come clear what is the overall plan for Barbados according to the DLP
@ Ping Pong
Thanks, had not seen the tract- so was not referring to it. Interesting!
So how you spending the next 25 days Ping? I hope you not planning on building a concrete shelter like MME… too late!!
LOL! It may not be worth the time fretting about Bannister or SMI either …:)
@ David
In March 2011 Minister of International Transport George Hutson says the project will cost several millions, and in just over a month we find out it will cost Bds$320 million dollars.
I guess we need to ask the Minister to comment on his under estimation (or creative accounting) of the total cost of the project.
_______________________________________________
Pier plans taking shape (Barbados Today – Online Newspaper)
2011-03-15
Government is moving ahead with its plans to build another cruise pier, says Minister of International Transport George Hutson. The St. James Central MP said today in the House of Assembly during debates on the 2011-2012 Estimates, that it is expected to cost “several millions of dollars”. “We would see certainly an improved separation of cargo and cruise passengers. We are in an advanced stage of the planning and we hope that project would certainly get going in terms of physical construction by the summer of this year all things being well,” he added. Hutson added that it was important for them to focus on and increase the home porting cruise passengers as there would be the improved facilities during the expansion project.
@Rose Art it is major construction we talking bout not a house in Sandy Lane.
get used to seeing hundreds of millions and billions.
So future project that smi is almost certain to get would get is an airport, cruise pier in north, a tower building. maybe take over pickering seeing as the current financing is lacking.
David they are going to wait until oil is $200US a barrel. then there will be blackouts to save fuel and Gas will be rationed.
I watch a lot of world news and the immediate future does not look good.
BU will have a lot to discuss.
With regards to Kellman. I think some of his ideas are good.
I think he has the interest of Barbados and particularly St.Lucy at heart.
Hants does the same thing except not very well.lol
I spend too much working when I should be wheelin an dealin.
Outsourcing is the new norm for small and medium size business.
The focus is on SMI but expect more “entrepreneurs” trying to feed on the beast that is called Government spending.
http://www.broadstreetjournalbarbados.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/_news_article_large_/Pierhead%20Marina%20LANDSIDE%20B%20HR.jpg
better view of the marina. how they getting the 80 meter megayachts in is very good question or for the matter 60meter super yachts.
Who wants to bet neither of these projects will be built and that the sum total of the execise is to get money up front in exchange for a few plans? $68 million in paper must be serious quantity of reports and plans, no?
must be for the environmental report ,impact study, seismic report, foundation testing , pile testing,coastal plan, full spec plans. report of land settling after reclamation. plus some of the start up cost to get going if major revision are need or extra testing.
A bloody sham.
@Charlie
What the politicians today maybe underestimating is the memory of the social media.
These project maybe important for the future sustainability of Barbados tourism but the way how the Bannister gentleman seems to be in every big BOLT project is worrisome.
If you listen to Owen Arthur’s speech posted on BU by a blogger you would hear him say that the man (Bannister) is fat already, what fatter do you want to make him?
This is from the horse’s mouth in relation to the Prison BOLT project. If he can say that, we can conclude that these BOLT projects involves scams and corruption.
If the project goes ahead then I am supporting the operation of Casinos there.
No religious hypocrisy should be tolerated at this time .Barbadians are gambling from the neighborhoods, church bingo, Lotto, one arm bandits you name it and not a word from these people, bring in the casinos FOR TOURISTS.
After all the grandstanding about a Tourism Master Plan, one would have expected it to be government’s #1 priority for the industry. Do these projects fit into the envisioned Master Plan?.
@Enuff
To add to your comment the BTA recently concluded town hall meetings and we were told the information gathered would inform a The Tourism White Paper.
The White Paper we are told on the BTA Blog is to:
What is the objective of the White Paper on Tourism Development in Barbados?
David of BU took the opportunity to ask Minister Dennis Kellman about the BOLT financing arrangement now that a Cabinet of which he is a part has signalled its use for the Pierhead Marina Project.
Here is the brief exchange which took place on Facebook.
“the man (Bannister) is fat already, what fatter do you want to make him?”
As fat as COW or Bizzy.
If nobody else is producing better bids on these projects it doesn’t matter how fat Bannister is. He deserves to get the contracts.
The problem is not Bannister. It is transparency. The public has a right to know every detail of Government contracts. It is Taxpayers money being spent.
A lot is learned at First Canadian Place. Canadians are very good at lobbying Governments.
Bajan Canadians learning too.
That not true hants. If bid scome way over budget all bidders bids are thrown out. either specs for the project changes or new budget is given and all reapply. Government is just giving praise to who can outbid each other now.
Haunts
From observations we can see that Cow and Bizzy have ongoing businesses in Barbados. Barbadians at least can see how they gain some of the fat. We have no knowledge on Bannister.
Owen Arthur and Darcy Boyce know him well. Now Freundel and Chris seemingly would have got to know him well.
Let’s be transparent on this one and put before the Barbadian public the details of the port extension and marina project. Why would a report cause the BLP government and DLP government
That should have read
Let’s be transparent on this one and put before the Barbadian public the details of the port extension and marina project. Why would a report cause the BLP government and DLP government so much money? I know it is big money involved but not an inch of the ocean reclaimed yet.
Does anyone remember the blog below from Barbados Free Press, remember he was in the newspaper (front page if I recall) and nothing has happened to him.
Is it because he did what he was suppose to do after being exposed and shamed? I guess he decided it was better to go along with the plan and declare the Pierhead Marina design by the GOB consultants unbuidable.
_______________________________________________
Shameful but Legal: Corruption by Barbados Coastal Zone Management Unit Director Leo Brewster
Leo Brewster awarded government contracts to own company!
Dr. Leo Brewster shouldn’t get too upset about the current allegations that he directed hundreds of thousands of dollars of government contracts to his own company.
@Rose Art
Regrettably the more things change the more they remain the same.
Bush Tea will come in as usual and say I told you so.
The same parallel can be drawn to the great Obama’s promise of hope to the world.
Maybe a very quiet Wishing in Vain who had a lot to post about Leo Brewster and alleged indiscretions can shed some light on this matter.
SMI Infrastructure Solutions Inc will cause this administration to loose the next election. Was it was not spawned in shadow of VECO.
US firm to build new jail at Dodds
Date June 29, 2005
Brief
A UNITED STATES COMPANY has won the bid to finance and construct the new prison facility at Dodds, St Philip.
Attorney-General Mia Mottley announced yesterday in Parliament that Veco Inc was the company chosen out of two proposals which were submitted.
She said the proposals was evaluated by a technical committee chaired by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance which unanimously recommended Veco for the job.
“I accepted the recommendation and last Friday the memorandum of understanding was signed by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the representatives of Veco. It is anticipated that within 21 months we will have a new prison at Dodds,” she told the House of Assembly.
Mottley said Government would have to await the completion of the designs to quantify the finance of the prison, but she estimated it would cost around $100 million.
She added that in August a town hall meeting would be held with residents living in Dodds, Padmore Village, Church Village and surrounding areas to update them about construction of the prison.
“The site is almost 200 acres. We will only be utilising 50 acres for the prison so there will be no circumstance where the prison will be up underneath any community. It will be a good distance with significant buffers from any existing community,” she said.
Meanwhile, sources revealed that the second bid was submitted by a consortium made up of Jada Builders, Rotherley Construction, Rayside Construction, C.O. Williams Construction, Williams Industries, FirstCaribbean Internatonal Bank, Barbados National Bank and mega-billion dollar British construction firm Carrilian, which builds and operate prisons in the United Kingdom.
That proposal carried a price tag of approximately $120 million in a 25-year BOLT – build, operate, lease and transfer – arrangement
@Bush Tea
You are absolutely correct. Your pragmatism is regrettably completely sound.
@ Roase Art
6 is half dozen. I just think most Barbadians expected this half dozen to be a little more forthright, transparent and accountable to THE PEOPLE. sadly they are not fully living up to THEIR hype.
These two projects combined are 5 times the cost of the prison and nary an explanatory word from substantive ministers or the PM. The BLP’s legacy of kickbacks, “alleged” corruption, shady deals and no explanations lives on with some of this present group. God save us all.
@ David
You will notice from the website link to Land Design that someone has removed the Sugar Point project from the Projects pages on their website, why????
If you take a look at your snapshot and the link below it is clear that the Sugar Point project in barbados seems to have dissapeared into thin air.
http://www.landdesign.com/work/projects/mixed-use/downtown-silver-spring.aspx
Here we go David.
Bernie Weatherhead and Gems. You have an opportunity to investigate.
See if yuh cuh put some licks in Bernie an Ludo. Mek CCC happy.
To get some balance we need to support Glyne Bannister.
Bizzy 75 Neville 25
Bernie an Ludo 2 HRL 1
David here is your opportunity to create a dynamic discussion on the percentage of milk in the coffee.
Rose Art | April 23, 2011 at 5:54 AM | The Pierhead marina is a scandal of unimaginable proportions & perversity and it will all be revealed in the lawsuit by Legan when the documents are filed shortly I suspect.
A Commission of Enquiry will be the result of the Pierhead Marina and alot of people are going to either suffer criminal consequences or will have the reputations damaged beyond repair.
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Lagan has a world wide reputation in the construction industry.
The Barbados government will eventually realize that reneging on deals will cost the country plenty.
I can forsee Barrack kicking up a huge fuss soon saying how they can build them and not pay him back.
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And so he should he has been treated disgracefully by the governmen and he has already made a big noise complaining to anyone who is listening.
And people are listening .