Bahamas News

Some members of the Official Opposition have ongoing worries about the continued closure of the Royal Oasis Resort, but the government’s chief negotiator for investments Sir Baltron Bethel assured Tuesday “the matter is still moving forward.”

Meanwhile, Jethro Miller, the attorney for one of the groups seeking to purchase the property said the purchasers were still “putting the details together”.

Mr. Miller said his group has already satisfied Lehman Brothers – the resort’s mortgagee – that it is capable of purchasing the resort, but he said it’s the government that still needs to be convinced.

The attorney is affiliated with the joint venture team formed by Bahamian architect Lawrence Chisholm and Hotel Acquisition Corporation.

Reportedly, the government is still in talks with the Ireland-based Harcourt group, which is also interested in purchasing the Royal Oasis.

For some Grand Bahamians, the sale of the Royal Oasis is long overdue.

The Free National Movement’s candidate for Marco City, Zhivargo Laing, who is trained in economics, was among those who expressed this view.

“The closure of that hotel continues to be a great noose around the neck of our economy,” Mr. Laing said.

He said ever since the hotel closed it 2004 there has been a tremendous drain on the economy and Grand Bahamians are disappointed.

“The many promises and suggestions of possibly re-opening or the selling of that hotel has just not been forthcoming,” said Mr. Laing, who is a former minister of economic development in the Ingraham administration.

Hundreds of Grand Bahamians have still not found employment since the resort closed, he claimed.

High Rock MP Kenneth Russell – who has long pointed to the challenges facing the economy of Grand Bahama – shared a similar view.

“Many persons in Grand Bahama [have] suffered in the economy, and the main downfall of the economy is the closure of the Royal Oasis,” he said.

The Royal Oasis Resort closed in 2004 after it took a beating in Hurricane Frances. As a result, more than 1,000 Bahamians lost their jobs.

Mr. Russell said many of the former employees moved to New Providence, Exuma, and Abaco as result of the closure, and are still facing hard times.

“It saddens me to see the government has played this game with us all along because they have failed to cause finalization with the Royal Oasis and so-called possible buyers,” he said.

Although Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe and other government officials like Prime Minister Perry Christie have pointed to the positives of the Grand Bahamian economy, Mr. Russell insisted that it continues to face troubling times.

He said that this has had a negative effect on the international bizarre, small businesses and families in Grand Bahama, and the economy continues to sink deeper into poverty.

The prime minister has asked Grand Bahamians not to define their economy by the closure of the resort, and has on numerous occasions expressed optimism that a sale deal would been finalized soon.

By Myles Adderly
The Bahama Journal