NRA report still ‘imminent’

| 02/05/2013

wbay road 1_2.jpg(CNS): The definition of "imminent" was in question at Thursday morning’s press briefing when Cabinet Minister Mark Scotland told the media, once again, that the value for money report on government’s deal with Dart, as well as the actual NRA agreement, was still being finalised. With less than three weeks to go before the general election, Scotland said the revelation of PWC’s assessment as well as the deal agreed with Dart was “imminent”. However, since he has used this term since February, the press quizzed Scotland over why it was taking so long when government had said the latest changes had all been agreed sometime ago.

Although he remained unclear about why it is taking so long to get the value for money review and the deal itself into the public domain, Scotland said that the report would be public before the general election on 22 May. Insisting that the deal presents value for money and that the government had nothing to hide, Scotland said he had spoken with PricewaterhouseCoopers prior to the press briefing and the draft report was undergoing PWC’s own final review before it could be released to Cabinet as the finished document for publication.

He said the actual agreement would be released with the value for money report as an appendix so the people would see the report in context with the NRA element of the ForCayman Investment Alliance.

What became clear, however, is that with only two more Cabinet meetings before the election, even if the report is released to the public before polling day, the remaining strip of the West Bay Road that Dart wants to close to absorb into its property between Raleigh Quay and what was once Yacht Drive will not be closed before the general election.

While the stretch of road which has been closed along the public beach and in front of the old Courtyard Marriott hotel, from Governor’s way to Raleigh Quay, may be about to disappear under 4000 tonnes of sand, presenting a fait acommpli to the next government, the delay on producing the final deal and the value for money report will mean that the current Cabinet, which has continued to support the ForCayman Investment Alliance, will be unlikely to be able to gazette the closure of the remaining stretch of the West Bay Road before the election.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Follow the money trail people…It is very "imminent!!!"

  2. Anonymous says:

    It must be 'Honorable for life" imminent.  Wink wink,

    • Anonymous says:

      Actually this election is answering the question are honorable politicians imminent or long overdue?

      If we answer that question at the polls I dont know if we will have enough politicians.

  3. Anonymous says:

    does it really matter? would we be as upset if it wasnt dart but instead joe smith building the hotel and creating new roads?

    isnt the biggest question of all – why is it such a surprise that so many of us just recently are 'amazed' at how corrupt, or at least the perception of corruptness in politics…what do you think has been going on here for the last 40 years at least? you do realise that we live in a tax haven…..which at best is a questionable existence! 

    and frankly…political corruption is no different anywhere else! doesnt make it right….it just it was it is.

    as to the new hotel development…if marlroad is accurate, its going to be 10 stories and stunning…..thats a lot better than we had before!  and as long as dart doesnt run out of money, my guess is that they'll market the backside out of it to ensure its fulland busy and bringing people to the island……not sure how this is a bad thing…may be bad for the other hotels…but maybe it will wake them up and trigger more expenditure? 

    sure, we lost 4000ft of land……i didnt look at it as my own anyhow…and that new road is spectacular (although i wish people would slow down)….

    what exactly are we going to do once we see the report from the NRA? demand action? of what? for who?  its all nonsense….settle down, get on with life and be thankful that someone is pumping money into the economy….cause the way the world is going, our financial industry is facing increasing pressure in the coming years as the world grows tired of 'tax-efficient-jurisidictions'…..we're going to need tourism to step back up as #1….it starts with darts hotel….and hopefully soon a cruise port…and so on

    • Anonymous says:

      "does it really matter? would we be as upset if it wasnt dart but instead joe smith building the hotel and creating new roads?…"

      ————————————————————————————————————————–

      Interesting point.  Do you think that if the government announced it would move the road and then did bid to see what it could get, there may have been more "value for money" from another developer?

       

       

      • Anonymous says:

        thats a good quesiton…of course, it depends on the land being worth more than you think the govt 'got' for it…..maybe 15 years ago it was all going for $400K per ft……these days, they can't give it away……condo complexes are being auctioned by banks…..guys..wake up, get over it, move on….what other developer is around that can pump in the funds dart is pumping in, without having any real risk that they'll lose their financing?

      • Truth says:

        No.

    • Anonymous says:

      I don't understand how people can endurse sticking your head in the sand

    • Anonymous says:

      Non as blind as those who will not see!  Put all eggs in one basket (Dart) and hope the basket doesn't break ….

      • Hoping for better days says:

        can see you are one of those caymanians that would have us back beatin mosquitos off our backs??? let me tell you something mam/sir…there are many caymanians who have money and who choose NOT to invest in their own country or the people, they are selfish and they keep it all for themselves. so you tell me what gives us the right, yes us, im caymanian born and bred; the right to put someone/anyone down about boosting our economy when our own people won't do it!!!! come on!!!!!

         

        It is time for us to change our way of thinking!

  4. Anonymous says:

    To all Concerned

    I know most or some of you are not aware of the utilities in the middle of the road that will be under sand.How would it look when the beach is full of Tourist and a sewer line bust and sewer is coming up in the new beach. This is a great enviromental hazard on us. but this is just being ignored as usual all the sand will have to be removed because it will be contaminated costing more money for someone mainly us.

    • SSM345 says:

      Forgice me if I am wrong, but is that not the case for each and every piece of development along SMB and the coastline in Cayman?

  5. OMG says:

    I just had a dream that we woke up on the 23rd of May to find that Mac was Premier again and Ellio was his friggin deputy. 

    I am not voting UDP. I am sorry!!! I would need therapy after that!

     

    • Billy U.D.P Freemoneyforvotes says:

      The PWC report cannot be released because it would cause even their staunchest supporters to drop them and they can't risk losing these votes. What boggles my mind is that this bunch of clowns were able to find people to join them on their platform for the upcoming elections. Come quick May 22nd, good riddance to bad rubbish.

  6. OOPS! NOT AGAIN says:

     As they say , if one repeats the same lie often enough they will eventually believe every word. After all  they have been trained by the best. 

  7. Dred says:

    This is just another reason why Mr. Scotland could NEVER EVER get my vote again. I promise you Mr. Scotland your fall from grace will be the largest probably in history. I ask you to remember one thing. BTers are a very vindictive bunch. Just remember your running mates in 2005 when we went to the poles after the abandoned us after Ivan. Remember what we did them. Guess who's up next?

    You sold your district out to UDP. You forgot who put you in that seat. I could careless for the fact that "you went along reluctantly" or that you finally realised how messed up he was and ousted him. I recall you square face lying to us that this was such a great deal and how we should accept the DUMP. Oops Waste Management Facility. With all the crap you and Big Mac speaks you would think at least one of you would know the difference.

    Your political days are numbered. Treasure your time now, hell take some pictures it will last longer.

     

    It's time to get back to honest government and the only way to do that is to go opposite of UDP and PNA or NPA or whatever they call themselves.

     

     

    Dred out…..

    • Hoping for better days says:

      well sweetheart, PPM not the answer to our prayers… think back a few years…seems we have all forgotten the truth…una better think before una mark those X's!!!

  8. Anonymous says:

    Why, oh, why, was one shovelful of ground allowed to be broken without the "deal" being finalised?     Will we ever know what the current "deal" entails?   Ever?

  9. Anonymous says:

    Silly Press…….Imminent mean "soon come", and "soon come " mean "don't hold your breath",

    and that mean "look fe me with one eye", it all ends with "Hush nah man, I comin when I good and ready"…sometime after 22 May would be a good guess.

  10. Anonymous says:

    People if there’s value for money then why can’t the deal not be shown as is as at today’s date? All of this delay and back pedaling is as if they are trying to add value to the existing poor deal. Fess up mr Scotland and the dead beat UDP and PNA you all sell your people out and stole the land right from under our feet.

  11. Whodatis says:

    This is not rocket science.

    The PNA aka "UDP Lite" is simply stalling until DART is ready to unveil the new WBR / public beach facilities.

    Only then will they release the details of the "ForDart" Investment Alliance because they are banking on the general public being so impressed with the changes that all will be forgiven and overlooked.

    To that I say – the plethora of hotels and condos that sprung up in the 70's and 80's were mighty impressive at the time as well. However, the subsequent disenfranchisement of Caymanians surely was not.

    I can only imagine the questions my children will ask me in 20 years time.

    How am I so certain? Easy – I asked my parents similar questions a decade and a half ago.

    Absolutely ridiculous. Those in charge ought to be ASHAMED of themselves.

    Not a single, original, outside-of-the-box idea from the bunch of them. Clearly none of the lot are indispensable to this country – because any clown in a suit can sell out their country to the highest bidder.

  12. Anonymous says:

    The departure of the entire PNA team is the only thing that is imminent! The actual deadlinE being May 22nd 2013! Let the new government release the long withheld NRA document and pass the National Conservation Bill and execute all the other major projects that the Caymanian people so badly need!

  13. Anonymous says:

    They will not release it before the  election because they do not want us to know before then ( if it does come out it will be the last minute).  Do  not under any circumstance  vote for UDP/PNA  or we will get 4 more years of the same treatment.more of the same.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Marc Scotland eitehr doesn't know what the work "imminent" means, or he is dishonest.

    Either way, we deserver better/

  15. Anonymous says:

    Who cares? There are politicians and civil servants engaged in stealing, corruption,drugs, you name it, destroying the country's reputation and economy. Driving tourists and international business to our competitors. Isn't that more important? This is a side show.

    • Anonymous says:

       the Business owners are destroying it also there is a whole lot of crooks around town. 

  16. Anonymous says:

    Why does the reprot have to be approved again by PWC? Either it was never done or it has to be amended to "sweeten" some news or remove it?

  17. Anonymous says:

    Mark is hiding that until DART pours the sand over what was the West Bay road..One thing for sure he can't say McKeeva threw him under this bus with this one…Must have had to do a lot of negotiating with DART to make this one look good…I hope we get to see what we were originally getting before we complained and they changed it…He should have released this as soon as they threw Mac under the bus…Makes one wonder what they stand to gain from this?

    Purple Rain coming yes..but it will wash them away!

    • Anonymous says:

      Pricewaterhousecoopers is oneof the big 4 accounting firms- but mark mark is really making them look bad.  I wonder how long they will settle for this?

      • Diogenes says:

        As long as they keep getting paid to amend the report to take into account the latest adjustments to the deal!