Hotel training school fiasco

Hon Charles Clifford, Minister of Tourism	McKeeva Bush, Leader of the Opposition

The John Silver Hotel in West Bay

Monday,  August 22, 2005

The plan by the former United Democratic Party Government to create a Hospitality Training Centre on John Silver’s property has been killed by the current Government.

The decision is based on numerous reasons from the purchase of the land for far more than its market value, to that past Government’s decision to go against professional advice describing the property as unsuitable for the project.

Despite all these, and other damning reasons, former Leader of Government Business and Minister of Tourism, McKeeva Bush, has criticised the decision. 

“Anything I started the Government is hell bent on stopping it,” he said.

“Anything I started was needed for the country and posterity will show that. They (the current administration) are stopping things just to be contrary. They are just finding excuses to justify their actions and that is not going to help the problems we, the country, have to face.”

The Government’s decision to stop the project comes some five months after the project was first announced by Cayman Net News on 25 March.

At that time, Mr Bush told Net News: “The John Silver’s Inn is to be renovated and will be used for the Hospitality Training Centre.” In making the announcement he underscored his Government’s focus on investing in, and building the tourism industry.

Answering a Parliamentary Question Hon Charles Clifford, Minister of Tourism, revealed that $607,791.04 had been for the property when Lands Survey had confirmed – over a year before that it was worth only $550,000.

Even with this information in hand on 15 October 2003, the Government went ahead with the purchase for over $600,000.

The excessive spending in relation to the Hotel Training School project is deemed all the more significant as the money came by way of a supplementary appropriation – that is, a sum in excess of the budget that the then Parliament previously approved.

Mr Clifford in his Parliamentary presentation also revealed that at the time the Government purchased the property, it was in the hands of the Caribbean Development Banks (CDB), which had repossessed it from a former owner because of a loan default.

However, some of the controversial elements relating to the property were brought to the fore when Net News spoke with the former owner, Kenric Welds.

“I have lived on the property for the past twenty-three years when I first built my house,” said Mr Welds.

“The house at the front of that property and I have nothing to do with the Restaurant and the Hotel anymore.

“I built the restaurant and hotel in 1983 and 1984 respectively and CDB took over both of those in 1987. I was trying to sell them for some time and when Richard Welds and John Swanson were my only good offers, I directed them straight to CDB. As far as I know they bought it from CDB and so they now, up to today (19 August 2005) live on the property. The entrance to my house and the entrance to the restaurant and hotel are separate.

“It is my understanding that the Government has bought that property for a training school. However, I see where the restaurant is now being run as a bar and they are renting the rooms in the hotel, not as hotel rentals but as long term arrangements.”

In his presentation Mr Clifford confirmed the fact that the former owner was still living on the property. He said that the UDP Government had instructed the Lands Survey to allow the current occupier and former owner to continue to occupy the property after Government had completed the purchase. 

“Consequently…for almost two years, the former owner has continued to enjoy use of the property for free and indeed is understood to be charging rent to other tenants. Needless to say…this irregular situation will be addressed in short order,” Mr Clifford added. It is also reported according to Mr Clifford that the previous Government had also made $50,000 goodwill payment to the owner of the property.

In relation to the suitability of the premises for a Hotel Training School Mr Clifford said that the consultant’s report suggested that a site where instruction and practical training could be accommodated, should be chosen.

The consultant went on further to recommend that the search for a site should not be pursued, in light of cost, and other considerations. He recommended that an apprenticeship programme with students working in hotels should be selected, which the Tourism Minister says he will now pursue.

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