Vexed Bermoothes

Embarrassed by the years of promised new hotel developments that cannot find external funding, Dr. Brown has announced that Government will invest in at least one project using our tax dollars.

“I was telling a colleague this morning that such is the challenge of our times that a capitalist problem may require a socialist solution…”

Dr. Brown said the project would use part of Government’s Budget for affordable housing as capital for the developer in an investment partnership. “It’s a way of matching two national priorities, tourism and affordable homes, while at the same time helping a local businessman,” he said.

In 2007, Government granted a Special Development Order (SDO) for the Grand Atlantic Resort and Residences to build a nine-storey, 220-room hotel on South Shore along with nearly 70 residential units for international buyers and a two story retail centre.

Now, Government will invest tax dollars in the development to build a scaled down 100-room hotel – on the proviso that 125 affordable homes (presumably for locals) are built alongside it.

This has the potential to go oh so very wrong.

In my opinion, this is a political rather than a practical move.  Why was this major change in strategy not discussed in the Budget last month?  Certainly there were no funds of this size in the 2009 Housing budget or sloshing around the capital projects.  So are we taking on new National debt for this?

The Premier has hung his political competence on a tourism revival which seems – through a mixture of mismanagement and global circumstance – unlikely to happen, so he’s now trying to finance it with taxpayer funds.  Tourism is supposed to earn us money, not cost us.

This also sets a precedent … I’d guess that every other SDO recipient will be lining up with their hands out, otherwise Government would be putting them at an economic disadvantage.