Baha Mar project still needs consideration
tribune242 editorial
THE BAHA MAR development is not one of easy solution -- politically it is a hot potato. The only reason it is being considered is that many Bahamians believe that in these economic hard times a big project is needed to get Bahamians back to work -- and Baha Mar happens to be that big project.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham does not necessarily agree. One day the Bahamas is going to run out of big projects -- certainly the need for them in New Providence. There are still the Family Islands to develop, but as time moves forward the Bahamas will have to find something other than "big projects" to sustain growth.
Nor does the Prime Minister believe that Baha Mar, even at this time, is the "saviour for the Bahamas."
However, what appears to many Bahamians to be an answer to prayers could present enormous problems in the future. Certainly enormous political problems.
For example, if government agrees to allow the Chinese to employ over the period of the $2.6 billion contract, 8,100 of their countrymen with Bahamians only on the periphery of construction, then future investors can expect the same. Certainly Kerzner International, which has preferred investor status, has every right in future to ask for the same concessions. And don't forget local business people, who should be entitled to employ the best talent for their businesses, will also expect to have more freedom to go abroad if the required talent cannot be found here. This is something that Bahamians should ponder very seriously. At the pace at which this country is developing -- especially with the unlimited vistas being opened by new technology -- there will be no place for D grade students. Of course, this is something for students and their parents to come to grips with now. They have to settle down to reality -- government can no longer protect them. They have not had to make the effort because their mediocrity has been protected by Immigration restrictions for too long.
But there are other worries. As Mr Ingraham pointed out, if Baha Mar is completed as planned will the investors be able to fill the added 3,500 rooms when many hotel rooms already here are empty?
"We will be building the largest single resort development in the country with exclusively foreign labour, foreign labour where there is no transfer of any knowledge to locals," Mr Ingraham said. "At the same time be putting a number of rooms that is larger than any we've got in the country, without any major hotelier being involved to date."
"Well if I have difficulty dealing with less than 1,800 rooms what is it likely to be the case if I put 3,500 rooms there? What makes me feel and what gives me the level of confidence that all of a sudden I've become a magician in terms of the management of a hotel and I'm going to have a very successful operation with high levels of occupancy and good levels of revenue to repay the loan of $2.4 billion?"
Added to which the Chinese now have a hotel in Freeport which they cannot fill.
"And if I am having discussions about the question of repaying a loan of $200 million that is dragging on and on, does that raise any question that I ought to be concerned with? These are all matters that the government has to be concerned with," Mr Ingraham said.
What is now exercising the minds of many Bahamians is what happens to the large resort and the land on which it sits if the land is transferred in fee simple to Baha Mar, which in future might default on the loan to the China Export-Import Bank. Does the bank, and eventually the Beijing government become landlords of 1,000 acres of Cable Beach? This is of great concern to many Bahamians.
Mr Ingraham said he would feel more confident about the development, if like Atlantis, it were brought on stream in stages, opening only 1,000 rooms to start with. Atlantis developed its mega project in three stages. The fourth stage is being held until the Baha Mar resort is resolved. Obviously, the Kerzners -- experts in the resort business --also believe that the Bahamas cannot fill the rooms of two mega resorts operating on one island at the same time.
However, Mr Ingraham believes the Baha Mar project and Atlantis can co-exist without one being detrimental to the other if the phased approach to development is taken.
If one kills off the other by over reaching it is the Bahamas and its people who will suffer. As each resort fights for guests, room rates will fall and so will local employment.
Mr Ingraham and his government -- and the Opposition if it will take its responsibilities seriously -- have a lot to think about as they do their best to protect the future of the country and its people.
October 01, 2010
tribune242 editorial
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Showing posts with label foreign labour Baha Mar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreign labour Baha Mar. Show all posts
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Foreign Workers on Bahamian Construction Sites
Foreigners on Bahamian construction sites
tribune242 editorial
THE DEBATE on the number of Chinese to be employed on the construction of the Baha Mar Cable Beach project -- six hotels, about a 100,000-square foot casino, a 200,000 square-foot convention centre, 20-acre beach and pool, 18-hole golf course and a 60,000-square foot retail village with additional residential products -- is going to be interesting, if and when it takes place on the floor of the House.
The number of foreign workers required by the Chinese as part of the deal is unusually large. But it is well known that the Chinese do not approve foreign loans unless their workforce is employed as a major part of the loan project. In the case of Baha Mar -- valued at about $2.5 billion - $1.918,965,693 billion has been negotiated with the China Construction Company as primary contractors. With that financial outlay it is amazing that government was able to negotiate any Bahamian presence. As Mr Ingraham said in presenting his resolution for this project to the House "the foreign labour component intended during the construction for the resort exceeds levels ever experienced in the Bahamas and is beyond anything ever contemplated by my government."
Under the UBP, construction up to a certain value was reserved for Bahamian contractors. Over that value it was agreed that Bahamians did not yet have the expertise or equipment to handle very large jobs and so those were left to foreign contractors, such as McAlpine, Balfour Beatty and others. In the 1950s, said Mr Ingraham, the government permitted 25 per cent of the labour force in construction and/or the operation of tourism development to be foreign.
During the Pindling era, however, the foreign labour component increased and newspaper articles recorded protests, either by foreign workers complaining of working conditions, or Bahamians questioning their presence in the Bahamas. For example, in 1988, 600 angry Indians went on hunger strike on the construction site of the Crystal Palace Hotel, Cable Beach. They accused the foreign contractor, Balfour Beatty, of treating them as slaves. Earlier - in 1981 - the Construction and Civil Engineering Union picketed the construction site of government's $66.5 million Cable Beach Hotel. "They import Filipinos to shovel sand. You tell me no Bahamans can do that?" complained a Bahamian worker. There were 40 Filipinos on that job site.
But the 1990 demonstration to protest the employment of common labourers -- truck drivers for example -- from Brazil on government's $55 million Nassau International Airport expansion was particularly interesting. The ratio of foreigners to Bahamians was 70 per cent on that construction site with government having to pay a large penalty if the number of Bahamians went over the agreed 139 or 30 per cent of the total work force. This prompted the carrying of placards that read: "It's Better in the Bahamas for Brazilians!"
At one point during the contract there were more than 340 Brazilians at the construction site, bringing the Brazilian count to 71 per cent compared to the 139 Bahamians that the company had agreed to use during this period.
The Pindling government had agreed that for every five Bahamians hired by the Brazilian company over the agreed 139 Bahamian workers, the government would have to pay $88,000 or $17,000 for each worker.
In the House on April 30, 1990, then Opposition Leader Hubert Ingraham revealed that the Pindling government had also agreed to pay all of the Brazilian company's Customs and stamp duties, work permit fees for their workers, and building fees on mechanical and electrical permits. In addition government was to pay all public utility fees -- connections and the like -- except for the actual electrical consumption.
The FNM found it preposterous that government would be penalised if more than 139 Bahamians were hired at the airport. "It is incredible that the Government has agreed to pay extra monies for Bahamians to work in their own country," said the FNM.
When the Ingraham government came to power its policy on foreign labour was established on the resort properties of Kerzner International -- the ratio of Bahamians to non-Bahamians on that site was not to exceed 30 per cent foreign to 70 per cent Bahamian.
And now here were the Chinese financially backing the transformation of Cable Beach into a mega tourist resort and asking for 8,150 of their countrymen to be engaged on the "core project". The projection is that some 1,200 Bahamians will be engaged in construction of the non-core projects.
Because of the unusual request for foreign labour -- 71 per cent foreign to 29 per cent Bahamian -- Prime Minister Ingraham has brought the matter to the House to give the Opposition an opportunity to express the opinions of their constituents on the matter. Both sides have to determine - in the words of Mr Ingraham - "whether this invaluable benefit of skills transfer and improved exposure to new technologies can or will occur in a project where contact between Bahamians and foreign experts is likely to be limited." Bahamians also have to decide whether in these lean years this project, with its foreign labour, is what they believe will jump start their economy.
September 28, 2010
tribune242 editorial
tribune242 editorial
THE DEBATE on the number of Chinese to be employed on the construction of the Baha Mar Cable Beach project -- six hotels, about a 100,000-square foot casino, a 200,000 square-foot convention centre, 20-acre beach and pool, 18-hole golf course and a 60,000-square foot retail village with additional residential products -- is going to be interesting, if and when it takes place on the floor of the House.
The number of foreign workers required by the Chinese as part of the deal is unusually large. But it is well known that the Chinese do not approve foreign loans unless their workforce is employed as a major part of the loan project. In the case of Baha Mar -- valued at about $2.5 billion - $1.918,965,693 billion has been negotiated with the China Construction Company as primary contractors. With that financial outlay it is amazing that government was able to negotiate any Bahamian presence. As Mr Ingraham said in presenting his resolution for this project to the House "the foreign labour component intended during the construction for the resort exceeds levels ever experienced in the Bahamas and is beyond anything ever contemplated by my government."
Under the UBP, construction up to a certain value was reserved for Bahamian contractors. Over that value it was agreed that Bahamians did not yet have the expertise or equipment to handle very large jobs and so those were left to foreign contractors, such as McAlpine, Balfour Beatty and others. In the 1950s, said Mr Ingraham, the government permitted 25 per cent of the labour force in construction and/or the operation of tourism development to be foreign.
During the Pindling era, however, the foreign labour component increased and newspaper articles recorded protests, either by foreign workers complaining of working conditions, or Bahamians questioning their presence in the Bahamas. For example, in 1988, 600 angry Indians went on hunger strike on the construction site of the Crystal Palace Hotel, Cable Beach. They accused the foreign contractor, Balfour Beatty, of treating them as slaves. Earlier - in 1981 - the Construction and Civil Engineering Union picketed the construction site of government's $66.5 million Cable Beach Hotel. "They import Filipinos to shovel sand. You tell me no Bahamans can do that?" complained a Bahamian worker. There were 40 Filipinos on that job site.
But the 1990 demonstration to protest the employment of common labourers -- truck drivers for example -- from Brazil on government's $55 million Nassau International Airport expansion was particularly interesting. The ratio of foreigners to Bahamians was 70 per cent on that construction site with government having to pay a large penalty if the number of Bahamians went over the agreed 139 or 30 per cent of the total work force. This prompted the carrying of placards that read: "It's Better in the Bahamas for Brazilians!"
At one point during the contract there were more than 340 Brazilians at the construction site, bringing the Brazilian count to 71 per cent compared to the 139 Bahamians that the company had agreed to use during this period.
The Pindling government had agreed that for every five Bahamians hired by the Brazilian company over the agreed 139 Bahamian workers, the government would have to pay $88,000 or $17,000 for each worker.
In the House on April 30, 1990, then Opposition Leader Hubert Ingraham revealed that the Pindling government had also agreed to pay all of the Brazilian company's Customs and stamp duties, work permit fees for their workers, and building fees on mechanical and electrical permits. In addition government was to pay all public utility fees -- connections and the like -- except for the actual electrical consumption.
The FNM found it preposterous that government would be penalised if more than 139 Bahamians were hired at the airport. "It is incredible that the Government has agreed to pay extra monies for Bahamians to work in their own country," said the FNM.
When the Ingraham government came to power its policy on foreign labour was established on the resort properties of Kerzner International -- the ratio of Bahamians to non-Bahamians on that site was not to exceed 30 per cent foreign to 70 per cent Bahamian.
And now here were the Chinese financially backing the transformation of Cable Beach into a mega tourist resort and asking for 8,150 of their countrymen to be engaged on the "core project". The projection is that some 1,200 Bahamians will be engaged in construction of the non-core projects.
Because of the unusual request for foreign labour -- 71 per cent foreign to 29 per cent Bahamian -- Prime Minister Ingraham has brought the matter to the House to give the Opposition an opportunity to express the opinions of their constituents on the matter. Both sides have to determine - in the words of Mr Ingraham - "whether this invaluable benefit of skills transfer and improved exposure to new technologies can or will occur in a project where contact between Bahamians and foreign experts is likely to be limited." Bahamians also have to decide whether in these lean years this project, with its foreign labour, is what they believe will jump start their economy.
September 28, 2010
tribune242 editorial
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Debate and division on 4,920 work permits for Chinese labour for the $2.6 billion Baha Mar Cable Beach resort complex heat up
PLP should be prepared for September 8
tribune242 editorial
SEPTEMBER 8th is D-Day for Baha Mar when parliamentarians will debate and vote on whether to approve 4,920 work permits for Chinese labour to build the $2.6 billion Cable Beach resort complex. The investment is backed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. The resort will be constructed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation and the request for the permits comes from the People's Republic of China.
Legislators are caught on a cleft stick with this one -- a case of be damned if you do, or damned if you don't.
Bahamians have always been against foreign labour to the point that even the unskilled believe that as long as they are Bahamians - regardless of their lack of ability - they should get all jobs. However, today the economic situation is different. The construction business is down, Bahamians are desperate for work.
The question is are they desperate enough to suppress their grumbles and agree to these permits in order to stimulate the economy and find employment for themselves, or are they going to dig their heels in and say: "No."
According to Baha Mar if this project goes ahead it will create 3,300 temporary jobs for Bahamians during construction and 7,000 permanent jobs on completion.
We have always understood that wherever in the world Chinese investors build, they do it with their own labour. Looking at it from the Chinese point of view, their country also has to provide employment for their own people. It is their money which they invest in their citizens to create a project in a foreign land. On completion that project will then benefit the country in which it is located.
Mr Christie believes that the Chinese government -- with better negotiating skills on the part of Mr Ingraham -- could have been talked out of such an unusual request. Little does Mr Christie know. When these permits were first talked of the figures being tossed about were between 5,000 and 6,000 workers. If this is so to get the Chinese -- who we understand are adamant about their Chinese labour policy -- to drop down to 4,920 is a miracle in itself. However, if these permits are eventually agreed, with the exception of a handful of their top executives, everyone of them must return to China on the completion of the contract. This should be non-negotiable.
Mr Christie is agitated because - after many complaints of not being consulted by the Ingraham government -- he is now being asked to join that government in deciding whether these permits should be granted. For once he would rather Mr Ingraham let that bitter cup pass from him. He believes it is a cabinet decision, not his. However, what he must never forget is that if he had been more decisive in dealing with the Baha Mar development before he lost the government in 2007, there would have been no need for this debate. So not only is it incumbent upon Mr Christie and his colleagues to step up to the plate and vote on behalf of their constituents, but the PLP should recognise that what is being requested is unprecedented in Bahamian history. Therefore, voices from all segments of this country must be represented, and the only way to hear from the people is through their "representers."
We hope that Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell is not going to waste the time of the House by blaming Prime Minister Ingraham for losing the Harrah's Entertainment deal because of a statement he made in the House.
He must remember that the new owners of Harrah's -- as disclosed in a case before the Supreme Court of New York -- had decided to abandon the Baha Mar-Harrah's agreement before Mr Ingraham even spoke in the House.
Mr Mitchell must also be reminded of the January 25, 2006 letter of Sarkis Izmilian, CEO of Baha Mar, to Mr Christie, in which he stated that despite his (Izmilian's) "best efforts these past three odd years the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (the Christie government) has failed me." Mr Izmilian added that he was at that time considering whether "investing billions of dollars in this country is the right decision."
It must also be remembered that the Christie government was still negotiating with Baha Mar up to two days before the 2007 election, which the PLP lost. Mr Mitchell must also recall that, because of the many rumours spinning around at the time, there was no way that the Ingraham government could sign the Christie government's unfinished agreement without much investigation. He must especially remember the "secret" agreements in the contract about the land deals that the Christie government knew would explode in its face if it came to the floor of the House and the knowledge of the Bahamian people. Therefore, a scheme was devised so that the controversial land transfers would not have to be approved by the House -- certainly not before the 2007 election.
"The country is desperately in need of relief in respect to this dire unemployment situation," Mr Christie told the press after a party meeting over the weekend to decide the position they would take in the September 8th debate. "The question for us is examining in detail what the implications are, the impact on Bahamian labour, and the length of time of the work permits."
This is the issue. When September 8th comes we hope that both sides stay focused. Regardless of whether the Christie Opposition tries to muddy the waters with red herrings, sits mute, or stays away, the position they take will be judged on that momentous day.
August 24, 2010
tribune242 editorial
tribune242 editorial
SEPTEMBER 8th is D-Day for Baha Mar when parliamentarians will debate and vote on whether to approve 4,920 work permits for Chinese labour to build the $2.6 billion Cable Beach resort complex. The investment is backed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. The resort will be constructed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation and the request for the permits comes from the People's Republic of China.
Legislators are caught on a cleft stick with this one -- a case of be damned if you do, or damned if you don't.
Bahamians have always been against foreign labour to the point that even the unskilled believe that as long as they are Bahamians - regardless of their lack of ability - they should get all jobs. However, today the economic situation is different. The construction business is down, Bahamians are desperate for work.
The question is are they desperate enough to suppress their grumbles and agree to these permits in order to stimulate the economy and find employment for themselves, or are they going to dig their heels in and say: "No."
According to Baha Mar if this project goes ahead it will create 3,300 temporary jobs for Bahamians during construction and 7,000 permanent jobs on completion.
We have always understood that wherever in the world Chinese investors build, they do it with their own labour. Looking at it from the Chinese point of view, their country also has to provide employment for their own people. It is their money which they invest in their citizens to create a project in a foreign land. On completion that project will then benefit the country in which it is located.
Mr Christie believes that the Chinese government -- with better negotiating skills on the part of Mr Ingraham -- could have been talked out of such an unusual request. Little does Mr Christie know. When these permits were first talked of the figures being tossed about were between 5,000 and 6,000 workers. If this is so to get the Chinese -- who we understand are adamant about their Chinese labour policy -- to drop down to 4,920 is a miracle in itself. However, if these permits are eventually agreed, with the exception of a handful of their top executives, everyone of them must return to China on the completion of the contract. This should be non-negotiable.
Mr Christie is agitated because - after many complaints of not being consulted by the Ingraham government -- he is now being asked to join that government in deciding whether these permits should be granted. For once he would rather Mr Ingraham let that bitter cup pass from him. He believes it is a cabinet decision, not his. However, what he must never forget is that if he had been more decisive in dealing with the Baha Mar development before he lost the government in 2007, there would have been no need for this debate. So not only is it incumbent upon Mr Christie and his colleagues to step up to the plate and vote on behalf of their constituents, but the PLP should recognise that what is being requested is unprecedented in Bahamian history. Therefore, voices from all segments of this country must be represented, and the only way to hear from the people is through their "representers."
We hope that Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell is not going to waste the time of the House by blaming Prime Minister Ingraham for losing the Harrah's Entertainment deal because of a statement he made in the House.
He must remember that the new owners of Harrah's -- as disclosed in a case before the Supreme Court of New York -- had decided to abandon the Baha Mar-Harrah's agreement before Mr Ingraham even spoke in the House.
Mr Mitchell must also be reminded of the January 25, 2006 letter of Sarkis Izmilian, CEO of Baha Mar, to Mr Christie, in which he stated that despite his (Izmilian's) "best efforts these past three odd years the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (the Christie government) has failed me." Mr Izmilian added that he was at that time considering whether "investing billions of dollars in this country is the right decision."
It must also be remembered that the Christie government was still negotiating with Baha Mar up to two days before the 2007 election, which the PLP lost. Mr Mitchell must also recall that, because of the many rumours spinning around at the time, there was no way that the Ingraham government could sign the Christie government's unfinished agreement without much investigation. He must especially remember the "secret" agreements in the contract about the land deals that the Christie government knew would explode in its face if it came to the floor of the House and the knowledge of the Bahamian people. Therefore, a scheme was devised so that the controversial land transfers would not have to be approved by the House -- certainly not before the 2007 election.
"The country is desperately in need of relief in respect to this dire unemployment situation," Mr Christie told the press after a party meeting over the weekend to decide the position they would take in the September 8th debate. "The question for us is examining in detail what the implications are, the impact on Bahamian labour, and the length of time of the work permits."
This is the issue. When September 8th comes we hope that both sides stay focused. Regardless of whether the Christie Opposition tries to muddy the waters with red herrings, sits mute, or stays away, the position they take will be judged on that momentous day.
August 24, 2010
tribune242 editorial
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