Mac singles out Dart in plans
(CNS): As he wrapped up his long awaited 2011/12 Budget presentation in the Legislative Assembly on Friday night the premier revealed government’s intention to partner with the Dart Group in the upcoming financial year to drive Cayman’s economic recovery. McKeeva Bush said Cayman couldn’t rely just on worldwide economic growth but needed to look for public-private sector partnerships at home to boost the economy. He said government proposed to establish a partnership agreement with the developer of Camana Bay, which the premier said would facilitate infrastructure projects without incurring debt.
The premier revealed that Dart would be completing the West Bay road by-pass up to Batabano as well as moving a stretch of the West Bay Road near the Public Beach and the former Courtyard Marriott, which Bush said Dart would also be renovating. The premier further announced that Dart would be constructing and operating at least two more hotels across Grand Cayman.
“These will be brand aligned and will enhance the tourism product to consolidate the destination’s leadership position in the Caribbean,” he added, but did not say exactly where these hotels would be situated.
Bush also spoke about a masterplan to fund and deliver much needed infrastructure projects as well as the roads. This would include the extension of the Public Beach area on Seven Mile Beach as part of the development of the derelict hotel, which was recently purchased by Dart from Texan developer Stan Thomas. The premier said Dart would enhance the existing facilities and add a public park.
The proposal for Dart to move the road in that area to create a beachfront resort on the land has already caused controversy with residents in West Bay. A group of residents recently met with Dart to express their concerns, not just about the plans to move the road but about the removal of public access to Seven Mile Beach. They were reportedly assured by the developer just a few months ago that there were no immediate plans to move the road or prevent local access. Concerns have also been raised about which crown land government proposes to swap with the Dart Group to facilitate the development of the new Seven Mile Beach resort.
Other potential controversies were also revealed by the premier when he stated that Dart would now fund and deliver a modern solid waste management facility at a new site on Grand Cayman and not just cap and remediate the existing George Town landfill.
Although he had already announced that Dart would be tackling the current dump site and turning ‘Mount Trashmore’ into a possible leisure area within Camana Bay in exchange for land that would be given to government to use as a new landfill, this is the first time government has said Dart would be funding and delivering the new landfill site. He did not state, however, whether the developer would be operating the waste management process in partnership with Wheelabrator, which had won the tender last year, or another waste-management firm.
Wheelabrator was awarded the contract following an official tendering process last year but CNS has been told that there have been no meetings between ministry officials and the bid winner since January, when the premier first announced that Dart would remediate the George Town landfill. It has still not been made clear where exactly the new landfill site will be or what, if any, role Wheelabrator and its local partner will play in the country’s future waste management plans. The international waste expert had won the contract based on plans to mine the existing dump and generate a waste-to energy facility at the site as a way of dealing with the islands’ growing waste problem and in turn funding its investment.
Bush said that the objectives of this proposed agreement with the Dart Group to partner with government to develop public infrastructure as well as new hotels were to create jobs for Caymanians in the short, medium and long term across a number of sectors, as well as stimulate the Cayman Islands economy.
“The Dart Group has very significantly contributed to the development and economic growth of our country,” he said. “The total economic impact to the Cayman Islands from their Camana Bay project has been estimated at approximately US$826m. They have demonstrated through their charitable activities and contributions — which exceed US$30 million in the last decade alone — that they are committed to helping make Cayman a better place for this and future generations,” Bush added.
Category: Politics
I wonder what is the motive behind mr dart ?
At what point will dart say ok i have enough. you know that he has the cash to buy every retail business on the island, well maybe he would want only certain key ones. he may then even control the CS and the CIG. then what bo-bo?
I hope that you all really like Dart, because that is the only company that is going to want to do business in the Caymans. How can a government award abid that was fairly won by one company and then give everything to a company that didn't even bid. You left Wheelabrator, the winning company, with nothing to work on. And you wonder why they haven't spoken to anyone since January? This is what the Chinese government is famous for. McDonalds had their largest, most sucessful resturant in Bejing in the lobby of a high rise office building. Although McDonals had a long term lease for the space, one day the Chinese government told them to get out, the government had just made a deal with another company for more money.
too late to be mad now…..watching from abroad.
Give me Dart over any other developer expecially those that will import 3rd world people to bring down the standard of living for Caymanians. I just wish that Dart was in here from the 1980 Cayman would have been much better off with less of the undesirables that we have here now.
I say yes give and sell it all off to Dart, I would prefer to have him any day that 100 people from the 3rd world that will import 1 million at the end of the day.
Dart has done more for Cayman and Caymaians that anyother person that I know.
Thank you Dart we appreciate you and your business here. I just wish that you would buy the entire George Town and clean up those undesirable areas and make it like Bermuda. Please direct the government on how to make Cayman 1st world you can, just look at Caymana Bay it look like Boca Raton.
Well it time for me to sell and get out of this country. The closing of West Bay Rd. is a serious threat to my business not to mention being a major daily hassle. It suprises me that Caymanians allow these types of developments to happen then complain about their heritage being lost. Look around, it is already lost.
People do realise that Cayman has been sold, right? Don't need to worry about the British anymore. DART owns us.
Bad News and Worse News. This deal has no good news. Dart is enabling CIG to continue in its' wasteful ways. This "manna from Heaven" in the form of Dart money prevents CIG from undertaking the necessary steps to reform government and becoming efficient and productive. It allows CIG to put on the back burner all the things it needs to do to truly have a uniform balanced and healthy economy here. What I see coming is more government departments being made bigger and more Civil Servants being hired in order to maintain control over the population. Construction workers will be looking for work within 5 years. I will bet that the average voter in West Bay will still be unemployed in two years and will not be voting McKeeva back in.
Correct me if I am wrong, I don't think there has been 100% occupancy in all the hotels in Cayman for a long long long time. We have the Ritz (remember the fights about putting that up), Westin, these hotels are slow. Why on earth are we so happy about putting up more hotels? Because Dart is doing it? What difference will it make putting up more hotels? Remember who sold their sole to the Ritz???????? Gave him status to? Did it give more jobs to the caymanians, did it bring all this business to the Island.
I rest my case.
Ha….soon the motto here will change from 'In God we trust' to 'In Dart we trust'.
I'm not comfortable with the idea of one man owning so much Cayman land. It helps the present debt problem..but…
What about the future? Our money will be spent yet Dart's asset list will be healthy.
If Dart is dealing with the toxic Dart Dump which is full of Dart plastic containers and bottles from Dart Distributors then good. Let him move the Dart Bay Road. In the future I'll drive my car on the Dart Bypass to Dart School while working in the Dart Hotel. At the end of the day I'll relax in Dart park and maybe take the family to the Dart cinema followed by a Dart resturant meal. I'll be safe because Dart surveilance cameras will monitor my Dart house and if I feel threatened Dart security will be on call using my Dart intercom system.
The only dissapointing aspect is that I was looking forward to the Dart cruise port in town.
Cayman does need money etc., but selling its' soul to the devil for "free money, roads, yet more properties" is not the solution. Cut spending. The US owes trillions; the EU is in bad shape. All because no one stops spending but borrowing more & doing dodgy deals. Dart will make huge profits from this & it won't be enough to fix Cayman; we'll need to do yet more deals with the filthy rich. You are selling Cayman out. A cap should be put on what one person or group can own; I don't want this to become the Dart Islands.
More importantly, a cap should be put on how much of Cayman one person can sell or give away.
What happens to the Caymanian people and the Cayman economy when there is NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE AWAY??? By my reckoning we have ALREADY TRAGICALLY reached that point but lets be hugely optimistic and say that we are very dangerously close to that point. Greed and head-less leadership, what a mess.
The island is drowning in it's own sh..t and on the edge of ecological catastrophe. But all people think of is money. I don't care who and how will fix it, and if they get rich somehow-good for them. I do not buy plastic or overpackage goods or things I do not need. What is the size of your daily trash bag? Start with that and stop bitching. And don't call overconsumption a progress. Think about future generation.
Goodbye McChavez, Hellow McMussolini.
If this definition doesn't scare you, nothing will.
FASCISM:
A political regime, having totalitarian aspirations, ideologically based on a relationship between business and the centralized government, business-and-government control of the market place, repression of criticism or opposition, a leader cult and exalting the state and/or religion above individual rights. Originally only applied (usually capitalized) to Benito Mussolini's Italy.
Cayman's government has no businesses getting involved in the private sector. Partnering with Dart or any other enterprise is dangerous and wrong. McKeeva sees this as a sure way to bail us out of our debt instead of making the necessary spending cuts needed to make Cayman profitable.
'A better way to use Mr. Darts business sense and wealth would be to have him purchase Cayaman Airways, the Turtle Farm, Pedro Castle and other businesses the government has that are eating us alive. By ridding us of these money drains, we can more easily approach an operating surplus and debt reduction.
Curious, why would Dart even consider buyng assets that are going to lose money. True it would be great for Cayman if these were taken off it's hands, but Dart is a businessman, and people have to realize that he is out to make money with these deals..Although he does seem to want to help he still has a business to run and if he made bad choices and bad investments he'd be out of business. He seems to make excellent business decisions and great investments that make money, which is what the CIG should have been doing all along instead of spending so much on things that bring nothing in.. It the government had put more imphesis on income generating investments they may have found themselves in Darts shoes..
You have posted elsewhere that you have an MBA from a "top" university. But considering how poor your English is, I am really doubting that. "It's hands" but "Darts shoes" ? Maybe it is just a matter of imphasis . . .
I have no Idea where you got that from, I never claimed anywhere to have an MBA. On the other hand I am quick to say that all I possess is a High School Diploma and proud to say that I have busted my behind and worked my way up the ladder past plenty of people that do have College Degree’s , although I am certified for support and development in Several Microsoft Applications.
I will admit I am not the greatest typist, so I will put more effort into proof reading and spell checking my posts for your benefit.
Una Git DAT 🙂
Tough Crowd.
er, i dare say the reason Dart has money is because he hasn't bought stinky dung like Turtle Farm, Pedro, KX, etc, etc……wow, people will complain about everything here!!! whats wrong with you? the country is broke….but we have access to the golden child in Dart…….we should use him…..if he gets to benefit too, lucky him……but beggars can't be choosers…..our backs are to the wall……if dart wants to assist by funding infrastructure in return for some prime land re-routing, its a small price to pay in the long-term scheme of things
if dart reads this nonsense, how about opening up a micro-loans/small business loans company where you lend internally to caymanian businesses/individuals at competitive rates, but over long, long term pmt plans with 'relaxed' security requests….the banks are killing the economy here by simply tightening up, raking it with their .8/.82/.84 wholly unwarranted currency exchange (when are we going on a par with the US$??) and looking for excessive security……you canbet if Dart stepped in, the banks would soon reduce their negative stance and get a bit more proactive and kick this economy into action
and an ice rink too please….not indoors, but these days you can buy permanent external artificial ice rinks….would look good near the hill-that-was-a-dump-soon-come!
Many countries would be happy to have such a company that is willing to invest in its infrastructure and people. We need to remember that NO ONE can purchase something that is NOT FOR SALE, people need to appreciate that wealth is gained by hard work and determination – don't grudge someone just because they are wealthy, that is the proplem with Caymanians today – they just hate to see someone else with what they percieve to be more than themselves.
For something like this to be crafted, craftsmen are needed on both sides so the result isn't lopsided. Surely there must be a concern in regard to both sides with eachs history, – CI Govt. with it's seeming ineptitude to get anything done effectively and Mr. Dart's past reputation for scorning deals involving other Governments in unfavourable financial situations. Personally I go with the UK Govt and it's reasoning that something isn't quite inplace to want them to guarantee our loan. A short term measure may well prove detrimental in the long run considering past performances unless respected craftsmen are found without bias in either situation.
Government needs to consider a partnership with the people of the Cayman Islands not the rich developers. Government needs to open its eyes, ears, and hearts to the desires of the people, not the desires of the developers.
Government has lost touch with the people or lost concern. I am not sure which.
We need to put the people above the politicians not the other way around.
I think that the Govt. of the Day is in touch with the people – people want job, their apt rented and a better standard of living – what are your solutions to the islands current state????
Apartments rented? Better statdards of living? How about eliminaton of overconsuption?How about our responsibility to save this planet for the future generations?
That sounds like a good idea this would mean certainassets would actually be owned by the Caymanian people and decisions would be made by votes at stockholder meetings. But how many Caymanians would be willing to invest their own hard earned money into Partnership investments with the CIG. For instance if the Government were to make a public offering for investors into the Georgetown Doc asking for local Caymanians to buy shares in the venture. Do you think there would be a large if any response from the public with people willing to invest. Think about it, if 3000 people invested $1000 into shares that would raise 3 Million Dollars and imagine if that number was 10,000 people then it would be 10 Million. I think it would be great and people would see a return on their investment via dividends and the increase in the value of the stock. Very Creative thinking, but for it to work you would have to have people that are willing to put their money where their mouth is…
If Cayman Airways or the Turtle Farm went public and sold shares would you buy them?
To paraphrase Warren Buffet; the quickest way to become a millionare is to first become a billionaire and then buy shares in the CI Government.
Nope not for those two.. But I would invest into something that would actually make money..
Are you really saying that the people of Cayman can bring the business skill and money to the table that Dart and his people can? If you want jobs you need business to succeed. For that you need business people and money. Pony them up and then start talking.
You should remember that the financial industry currently accounts for close to 50% of our GDP and they don't develop, build ord destroy the environment. These are top professionionals in their field and we need more like them. We first have to lower fees to attract more companies in this sector and try to give them permanence here. They are proven to be the goose laying our golden eggs.
You have not seen a financial statement from Dart so you can't say that he is a good businessman or that he makes money. It will be generations if at all that Camana Bay ever shows a profit due to the high costs of building, operating and maintaining it. Go with what you have which is the financial industry. Nurture it and grow it with incentives. Dart jobs are temporary, specific to a few and not nearly in the quantity to keep unemployment from worsening.
Really what choice do we have as a people? We have no money, our leaders are greedy jokers and we have one man who has been bailing us out and allegedly paying salaries for our civil servants for a while.
Our Premier has promised to increase population – I leave that for you to consider. But we will need more infrastructure improvements if we increase the polulation by giving away our country to the rich.
We are becoming 3rd class citizens in this country being given away? Its no longer our land – its everything. And our children and grandchildren will not be able to compete on this unfair playing field. It is all so sad.
Government is in partnership with the Cayman people. They are called civil service and a lot of money is sent their way. They now also hold the reins on anyone getting anything done through the government so no one can piss them off including the premeir. Unfortunatly they are very expensive, There is no return on the investment other than keeping some of them working and out of crime, the pensions and health care will eat up any surplus (real or made up) in the future.
I say give all you can to Dart. At least things will be done on time on budget with a great product that will not cost millions of dollars just to keep open.
Or just keep doing it the same old way with the same old guys in charge with all that money goin into that big hole called budget and not much of value coming out. Its what Cayman does. Cayman has trust issues. Hard to trust anyone smarter than a 5th grader. Is that the test to qualify for a Government position? Or civil service? Is there any test?
.
So now the Government want's to have a partnership with DECO to work on the infrastructure, but didn't Mac said that the last aministration wasted money on the infrastructure? So if the infrastructure is such a waste of money, why is he even bother having a partnership with DECO to complete the bypass into West Bay? Wait….This is to benefit Dart so he could go and develop some oversize Hotels, where there's smoke there is fire. Actusally I don't agree with a private sector having anything to do with the roads and infrastructure, the Government is solely responsible for that kind of projects. And also the Mac said that PPM spend money that didn't have on projects, I wonder where he is going to get the money from to fund these projects? He only have 12.1 million in Surplus, and he can't borrow. The bypass and the infrastructure work would take more than 10 Million to do, partnership or no partnership, it still going to cost the Government Millions of dollars, and on top of that, the two high schools need to be completed, the berting facility in waiting for a developer, etc. And he still pursuing more projects with money we don't have. What this Government need to do is a spending freeze, excluding the completion of the two high schools, and find ways of cutting expense, which UK wants them to do, and all now this Government can't even show the UK how they would be making those cuts. And the Mac talking about being push, if you not performing, then you would have to be pushed. The Mac need to wake up, and stop living in a fantasy world, for we can't afford his crazy projects.
It is never good to sell our souls for short term gain at the expense of long term loss.
What will we do when one company controls the entire economy and we are all working for the same employer. Who will have the advantage then?
Some people it seems cannot see further than their nose!
"What will we do when one company controls the entire economy and we are all working for the same employer."
Haven't you noticed that most of us work for the CI Government? All the eggs are already in one basket…
Cayman for sale – to the highest bidder!
I'll give you a buck and a half, but only if you can sell the island free and clear of all debt. If the debt follows the land, it ain't worth sh!t. Thank the last government for that if you like.
Shove your buck and a half where the sun don't shine, idiot.
just wait for arden/ezzard to start bashing this….. and we still wait for their solutions…..zzzzzzzzzzz
Bash away guys, its McKeeva who's responsible for the solutions, and he's CERTAINLY not going to listen to yours.
Camana Bay is the cheese in the trap.
Like I have been saying all along Mac has never seen a millionaire he did not like. United Dart Party plain and simple. In Dart we trust or bust. Take your pick. I'm very ill of all this crap. I remain a 3rd Class citizen and I can't do anything about it.
If you remain a 3rd class citizen blame yourself for not getting of your but and doing what it take to get ahead. Some people are willing to scrape an struggle doing whatever it take to better themselves with sitting on ones behind and waiting for someone else to make them rich…
You are also A FIRST CLASS FOOL..
With a name like that, you can't be too far behind.
If Camana Bay is anything to go by I look forward to seeing how these projects will move forward…..this is a good move for Cayman
Thanks Dart… Thanks for continuing to have confidence in the Cayman Islands. The projects outlined in the budget address can only help to stimulate the local economy.
Only you Caymanians can stop him, stand up and be counted or stop your complaining!!!!!!!!!!!!
We're perverted. If we stop complaining we can't get it up again.
Civil servants make up about 1/3 of the voting populace on the island. They need to be able to have a say politically if anything is to be done.
Curious as to what you are trying to stop.. ? What is Dart doing that's so bad. I see a man that putting his money where his mouth is…
I can tell you don't live in West Bay, the traffic is going to be a nightmare coming and going to West Bay!
Funny CNS that you did not publish my post predicting this exact same thing and encouraging the public to think outside the box……the surplus has come at a great cost to Cayman and a great profit for Dart…..That is what we will continue to face….our loss and his and macdicktators gain.
Bush has come full circle once again. He has attempted to negotiate alliances with outside groups, for whatever the reasons and nothing has come to fruition. Personally I belief these groups have no faith in Mr. Bush and his ability to manage the country. As many people have stated for two years the Dart Group have a vested interest in The Cayman Islands that will not go away ever. Partner with friends and develop the infrastructure for ALL not just a small group of politico's and cronies.
dart to the rescue…..again…… cayman should have a national holiday to honour this man
can you imagine cayman without dart?
DANGEROUS!
Our beloved McKeeva, all things considered, must be somewhere up there close to Dart, financially speaking. Unlike Mr. Dart though, Mac has the Cayman Islands and its niave populace to thank for HIS fortunes. Do yourself and your country and your fellow Caymanians a favor Mac, and JOIN Mr. Dart in his efforts to make Cayman a better place in this world instead of sucking it all up and using the PPM as your scapegoat. Will you? Beloved Mac?
As much as I respect and appreciate Mr. Dart for all he has achieved n Cayman, I would be very wary of any implications that he is GIVING ANYTHING to Cayman free of cost. Dart is a businessman, people, after all, and obviously an intelligent one at that. As usual, as long as we are dealing with our present Government it is imperative that we get ALL the facts before we start getting too excited over pie in the sky promises.
So all his expensive travels to find inward investors were a complete waste of time, because the only investor interested was on his doorstep all the time!
not a complete waste of time… it got him out of the country for a while.
Thank you. I just LOVE intelligence. Still though, that was an extremely expensive, round about way of running a country, don't you think?
Sounds like the Wizard of Oz to me.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain…
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!! come on daddy!
Idiot.
….And the fat lady sings for the end of recession Cayman!
Thank you Dart and thank you Government.
More hotels??? As an ex-pat I hope people come and stay in them! Why did the economic zone fall off the radar?? After that 2 week trip overseas we haven't heard much progress. Sort your priorities government.
New hotels with new services will be good for our tourism product. And as for that Economic Zone Enterprise thing … if it sounds too good …
Maybe because they don't really have the money they say they do and the whole thing has been a publicity stunt to get investors. Or they are just working quietly in the background. Who knows? Also it sounds amazing in theory, but this exists in Dubai and it's a vacant wasteland. The head of the operation is a previous resident. It appears he is just copying and pasting the premise and implementing the idea in Cayman. As bad as that all sounds, I do hope it works out because it would be an excellent development 'if' it works.
"It" will work because it has to!
Give and take.
If Dart is willing to give: New landfill site and remediation of exisiting site. Two new hotels. And complete the by-pass.
Then hell yeah I'm willing to take the WB road being diverted.
No environmental damage from that, and if part of the new beachfront land to be created is reserved for public access this is win win win.
I will not however "take" Dart dredging the North Sound, no matter what they're giving!
Follow the road map that was suggested in 2009 by James Miller. Leave Dart alone and make him do his own investment. Meanwhile, reduce the size of government, reduce fees, duties, and permits, and allow the private sector to thrive. Don't allow the UK to effect decision making. The Miller's Report is a clear path that will avoid these islands being tax. Forget about government projects and start thinking about helping the private sector to create jobs and maintain small businesses. Enough with Dart and making deals and offering concessions to big shots. Reduce the size of government operations. For the last time, this is my suggestion, Mr. Premier.
The last two years have not made Bush any smarter just richer. It would be easier to make a chicken start barking than to get him to do any right thing. Too bad.
Even if Cayman's government cuts its civil service to the bone, as the UK Government is doing, these cuts are still creating unemployment and poverty within the population…the ranks of the unemployed only increase with government making employees redundant.
At the end of the day, private sector enterprise has to revive and thrive to get the Cayman economy back on its feet and the population again providing sustenance for thier families.
If the CI Government, under McKeeva Bush or the PPM, can now find a way to revamp Cayman's labour system so that the local Caymanian work force benefits from the investment in these partnership projects, then all will benefit.
If these projects are only for enriching Dart and his sugar-baby, McKeeva Bush and his chosen clique, then nothing fundamentally will change…Cayman's unemployed workforce has to be the main beneficiary of this deal.
If McKeeva Bush is really serious about getting Cayman back on its feet, he will order a moratorium on the issue of work permits for these major projects until the unemployment numbers are down.
Dart will eventually own the Cayman Islands, if he does not already but with the ineptitude of the local political clique who only swap over every 4 years while making things worse each time, at least Dart represents stability and successful enterprise….
That cannot be a bad thing for Cayman.
I am 100% for creating public-private partnerships between government and private entities where government may hold a percentage of shares, which could serve as revenue; and, also a memorandum of understanding would be established between government and the entities involved to ensure Caymanians remain as the "main beneficiary" of the wealth accrued; and, like you say, a "revamp Cayman's labour system" to ensure fairness due to our immigration restrictions.
In the Cayman Islands, on the other hand, sole privatization of nonessential public services would not be a feasible option, because we should have something in place to ensure sustained government funding if the unlikely unfortunate event of independence should occur (God forbid if that is the only option there is left to guarantee individual freedom from the UK's abuse of power over us).
At the end of the day, Caymanians should be the "main beneficiary" of all nonessential public services to create more jobs, and the private sector, including Dart and big names, should be able to just like our small eutrepreneurs here, innovate and create wealth in a free market system without government regulation and hikes in fees/permits, preventing and thwarting them from progress.
As a result, more companies / business will be created and maintained, lesser and more effective government, and more jobs created in the Cayman Islands. Dart can never be a bad thing for Cayman, but whenever government starts granting concessions and showing favoritism to 1 private entity or 1 man or elite person out of many other entities, the deals, the MOU's, the favors, and possible kickbacks will come back to haunt us.
Cayman's interest must be first and foremost.
It is the role of government to serve and protect its citizens and toensure that the local market is free and fair as possible by transferring most of the responsibility in taking care of the economy to all private entities equally. To ensure healthy and uninterrupted competition.
Let me just predict……that 99% of the comments that will be posted for this story will be negative, bashing Bush and Dart.
Please prove me wrong, and post some positive, non cynical comments.
So far so good.
It's called karma, folks.
How could you post something positive about a perceived negative? Newspeak?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak