Following Premier McKeeva Bush’s announcement last week of a mega deal with the Dart Group, opposition legislators raised concerns over the agreement, which they said would give the company major influence over Cayman.
During a parliamentary debate on the budget, Leader of the Opposition Alden McLaughlin said his party had no problem with the government partnering with private sector companies to improve Cayman’s infrastructure, but he added, “The problem we have, in principle, is the sheer size of the Dart Group’s investment in Cayman already – the economic power that it wields, its ability to, in one fell swoop, put a number of Caymanian-owned businesses out of business.”
He said Dart was now effectively in control of the wholesale liquor business and were close to controlling the duty free business as well.
Mr. McLaughlin said there were concerns about the level of influence Dart could wield over the government.
$1.2bn over 20 years
The deal will cost the Dart Group more than $100 million in cash outlay, not including construction-related investment, and involve the company committing to US$415 million of direct investment over the next five years, US$200 million of which will be spent in the next two years. The Dart Group anticipates spending more than $1.2 billion over the next 20 years.
Under the agreement, Dart will own the George Town landfill, which it plans to close and cap, and will give the government 110 acres in Bodden Town on which it will construct a new solid waste disposal facility.
The company will also extend the Esterley Tibbetts Highway as far as Batabano Road in West Bay and take possession of about 2,500 feet of West Bay Raod from Raleigh Quary Road northward, leading to the closure of that stretch of the road. Dart will also redevelop the old Marriott Courtyard Hotel on West Bay Road.
“This agreement really is poised to ensure that local developers are going to be locked out completely of any kind of development along that [Seven Mile Beach] corridor. We have major concerns in that respect,” said Mr. McLaughlin.
He added: “There is no doubt that the Dart Group has made substantial investment in Cayman and everything they have done is top quality… but it is the bigger picture that we have to bear in mind and that is, ultimately, who winds up in control of this economy.”
He said the deal the government had agreed with Dart would mean the company would be able to “exert tremendous influence” over the government.
Tough on ‘mom and pop’ retailers
During his address, independent member for North Side Ezzard Miller also warned against the Dart deal, saying the company was “changing the face” of the Cayman Islands and making it tough for “mom and pop” retailers to compete.
Of the agreement between Dart and the government that the premier announced last week, Mr. Miller said: “We are putting far too many eggs in that basket. We need to be very careful.”
East End MLA Arden McLean questioned how the government had the authority to hand over part of West Bay Road to the Dart Group, saying this was a gazetted road under the Roads Law.
He added: “I implore… the government not sell our country to one individual and let him hold us to ransom. It is wrong for this country and I will oppose it forever and a day.”
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He added: There is no doubt that the Dart Group has made substantial investment in Cayman and everything they have done is top quality… but it is the bigger picture that we have to bear in mind and that is, ultimately, who winds up in control of this economy.
He said the deal the government had agreed with Dart would mean the company would be able to exert tremendous influence over the government.
These concerns could be seen as legitimate but, having said that…
The Cayman Islands is a free-market, capitalist economy and there have never been any restrictions on who could buy and own what in Cayman.
Were things that much different when Cayman’s economy was owned and controlled by a small handful of merchant families in the last generation or two ?
If Cayman’s political culture was not based on using the opportunity public office gives, to enrich one’s self, family and friends, the successive governments of the Cayman Islands might have been more astute in their handling of the economy.
A more service-oriented approach to the voters and other residents of Cayman might have better placement of personnell in ministerial positions and senior and middle management civil service roles where efficiency would pay dividends.
The politicians of Cayman have only themselves to blame for inept and totally unqualified management of Cayman’s resources and now face a dearth of ideas on how to fix the problems.
The CI Government can benefit from Dart’s investment in Cayman, while controlling his economic power by doing one simple thing…
Revamp the labour/immigration system to a more manageable and fairer system; conduct a thorough labour survey and limit work permits to only those absolutely necessary until the majority of unemployed Caymanians who want to and are capable of working, are back in jobs.
Selling work permits in bulk to Dart for his projects to raise government revenue will probably be a huge temptation for the CI Government.
If that system does not change, these politicians who are naysaying now will be shown to be nothing more than what we already know them to be.
I don’t understand the concern regarding local developers being locked out, that hotel has been sitting there for years with no one even showing interest in redoing it and that includes any local developers, are they saying it should just sit there until someone get around to renovating it ? He admits that Dart has made major investments into Cayman and that everything he’s done is top quality so I really don’t see what the problem is when it looks to me like Dart is committed to making a better Cayman and willing to dig into his own pocket to do it. I get the impression that these two guys Ezzard and Miller will be against anything that doesn’t make them look good. I wonder what they would do if they were in office to repair the economy. But that’s just my opinion at this point. I can understand the concern of selling the country but it doesn’t seem like anyone else in interested. Some would say the Dart’s willingness to invest into the islands well being is a god send. If he has ulterior motives then that remains to be seen. One thing is clear is that without these types of investors Cayman will soon be under British rule just like Turks. Especially when it’s obvious that the CIG has run out of money.
The opposition is simply trying to discredit the deal because they are looking votes in the next election and playing the conservative, we wont sell out Cayman like Big Mac card. Plain and simple.
They have to say something so as to be seen as doing thier jobs even if its total nonsense. I agree 100% with the first 2 comments. How are they locking out local developers? How can you prevent someone from buying land? Its not like anyones putting up a wall like they did in East Germany. There will still be access to the public beach and everything south of that, there will still be access to Calico’s, the Tiki bar and everything north of that. Where/what is the lockout?
What they are really saying is that We dont have a clue about how to save this country but we won’t let Big Mac get the credit because that will make us look bad in the next election.
Everything that Dart does is exceptional and raises Cayman to a new and higher status. Camana Bay is stunningly beautiful — a huge asset to Cayman. Take it away, and we are no different than any other Caribbean island. We should be thankful to Mr. Dart that he cares about Cayman and takes such pride in his work. He is only interested in beautifying Cayman, not taking over it. Other developers have the opportunity to do things — but they choose not to. Any one of them could have bought the Marriott — but none of them did. As for the Landfill site — it’s a hideous mountain of trash that all the cruise ship tourists see when they arrive in port — thank God someone is now doing something about it. It should have been done decades ago — other developers had the opportunity — none did anything about it. So please, people, be thankful for Dart. It’s the best thing that has come to Cayman. Too bad Dart isn’t building the Cardiac Hospital — it would have been done already. Too bad, too, they aren’t building our new cruise ship port. Could have been stunningly beautiful — and tourist’s first impression of Cayman. It would have resulted in more tourists deciding to visit at a later time — but our government did not have the foresight and gave it to someone else to do when they didn’t agree with Dart’s vision. Thank God for Dart — and what they’ve done to Cayman.
Speaking as a tourist of many years, I hate to see the changes. We like the small shops. Why spend so much money to have everything that we have at home? And Dart…didn’t he used to live in the United States?????
I’m afraid this is all for him benefit … not for the Cayman Island.
@Sharan..I am a local here and I have heard before from tourist abroad that they like seeing the island with its little shops as well. I mean most tourist want to see the island life.
I think the whole point of this is that really and truly Dart owns too much of Cayman. Dart has done many things such as Camana Bay and local parks but how much more of Cayman does he needs to own??
@ Sharan and Kman,
Yes tourists want to visit a place with quaint little shops owned by a friendly local , the moms and pops, and get that one on one on experience but the reality is that no one is building small quaint shops anymore nor do they generate significant employment or investment.
Regarding the mom and pops, what we need is a good sized plot of land in each district that can be split up into small say 100ft allotments, priced cheaply and each vendor, the small guys, can have his own space. Dart is already doing this in Camana Bay. Stop by any Wednesday and you will see local vendors selling thier goods there. Govt needs to follow this example.
That said, we need major investment in Cayman because we are at the breaking point at which one wrong move can make or break us and trust me, this deal is one of them that will make us.
Does anybody really believe that a developer is going to give something to the people of the Cayman Islands for nothing? Don’t be fooled. If they give you something, they usually take back much more in return. No one is that altruistic. I really don’t think we should be selling out Cayman to the highest bidder, even if they do build nice developments and engender a lot of employment. And we certainly shouldn’t be giving them a part of West Bay Road. If we do that, what’s next? At the end of the day, who owns Cayman? Is Cayman for Caymanians or for the billionaires? I would rather have very little with contentment than to sell out to the highest bidder and have them own me.
All I’m saying is how come I can’t retire in Cayman? How come I can’t come down and spend my pension money living there? I’m just a regular working person. I can’t stay but this guy can?
***********Read more about who is buying your country
http://journalism.berkeley.edu/projects/worldandus/archives/2005/04/kenneth_dart_ar_1.php
http://billclintondailydiary.blogspot.com/2005/02/kenneth-dart-citizenship-and-tax.html
http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1995/b343279.arc.htm
http://caps.fool.com/blogs/who-is-kenneth-b-dart-and-why/388891
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dart_Container
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture_fund
In a nutshell what I would say is that if you don’t want foreigners to own Cayman then don’t sell it to them. If you don’t want to owe people money do not borrow from them. I don’t like the idea of what’s going on with the Argentina thing, but they are the ones who borrowed the money. Sounds like Dart may have tried to help them out and now they are acting like he’s the bad guy, I wonder if they acted that way when they were asking for the money. This is no different than someone who buys a home knowing that they can’t afford it and then blaming the bank for trying to collect the debt. I don’t think Dart should have gotten involved in loaning money to a country but one thing I can say about this Cayman deal is that it will not leave Cayman in his debt, he is just investing a lot his own money into privately owned ventures most likely because he feels safe with Caymans future. Yes he’s asking for certain concessions in return for giving plenty to the Island of Cayman but it will not leave them in his debt even if his investments belly up, Cayman will owe him nothing. In order for him to make money his business such at the Marriot will have to prosper greatly which in turn will help Cayman prosper because although some concessions were given Cayman will still get their cut of those profits for him to survive he has to help insure Cayman does as well, the alternative would be to get nothing if he doesn’t invest here. Dart seems to like the Island atmosphere which shows in his designs, just take a walk through Caymana Bay and you will see how he tried to keep the dcor and design in a traditional Island style even insuring the use of plants that are native to Cayman and quite bit those were endangered species that he’s helping to revive in his development.
So before you go and start a campaign hatred towards this man, be sure that you’re not pushing away something that will actually be beneficial to Cayman. A few people said they would rather have less and be content then to have this deal. Why don’t you guys start a campaign encouraging Cayman to abandon all the development and foreign investments and focus on keeping the Island in its traditional state, suggesting that as an alternative a direct tax can be implemented if needed to raise money for things like schools, poor assistance and whatever the needs are to keep island in it’s traditional state. Let the government know that the Caymanian people are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the island for themselves and get things back to the way it used to be. Rally al the people together to have save the Cayman way of life, even if it costs everyone a little more because of the government tax, sure a lot of the foreign investors will leave and the finance industry will dry up as a result, but Cayman will be that same Cayman your forefathers enjoyed and there will be plenty of tourists that will come and visit the island to enjoy the quaint little shops owned by the natives.
I fully support the Dart Deal. It is the only positive economic news the island has had in years.And at least when Dart puts plans into motion they get done! We must support projects on this island that will stimulate development, tourism, and general growth in the economy. With the serious loss of population over the last few years that means so much less money to go around the local businesses. We must increase the economic base in order for this island to flourish economically.Investing in developments like the cruise ship dock, airport improvments, dump relocation, and Shetty Hospital will attract workers in a variety of fields and will boost employment for expats and Caymanians all around. The alternative is further debt, further recession and further cutbacks for . Those protesting all development do not realize that you cannot go back to the old days of fishing for a living. We must move ahead or risk losing this beautiful society to further cutbacks in the standard of living for all. That means less benefits, more taxes or fees and higher crime rates in the future.