Premier – We cannot just discard things that were done
Speaking on NDP Radio talk show on a local radio station last evening Monday April 16, 2012, Premier Smith, who is responsible for Tourism, was responding to a question from a caller regarding the plans for the Prospect Reef Resort.
Hon. Smith told the caller that while the resort was purchased several years ago to be developed into a hospitality training centre and it was Government’s intention to do so, they are now looking at how they can go forward since a Culinary Arts Centre was started in Paraquita Bay during the last four years by the previous administration of the Virgin Islands Party.
“We now have to decide what direction we will go in,” Dr. Smith noted. “Because we obviously can’t be just discarding things that were being done because we have to be a responsible government and spend the tax payers money wisely.”
The Centre at Paraquita Bay was expected to be up and running by December 2011, an announcement that was made by Dr. Karl Dawson, President of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) on June 9, 2011 at the 18th graduation ceremony of HLSCC.
Prior to his announcement, works on the centre which had begun in October 2010, had come to a halt in March 2011.
When Virgin Islands News Online had made contact with the relevant authorities affiliated with the project, the response then was it will restart as soon as funding was sorted out.
In seeking an explanation as to the status of the centre then, Neil Smith, the Territory’s Financial Secretary (FS) had divulged on April 14, 2011, that the project had been temporarily stopped because his department wanted to manage the cash flow.
“We don’t want to be placed in a position where we cannot pay persons their salaries,” he had told this news site.
The project is expected to cost Government an estimated US$2.2M.
Regarding the developing of Prospect Reef Resort into a tourism hospitality training centre, during the campaign trail last year, Premier Smith as leader of his party, had disclosed plans to develop the training centre as well as solve the time share issue with the Prospect Reef Vacation Club which he had claimed was ignored by the VIP administration.
During their previous administration, the NDP had purchased Prospect Reef Hotel in 2005. However, the Vacation Club sued Government for not honouring previous contracts with the former owners after purchasing the hotel. Negotiations since then were unsuccessful between Government and the time share owners.
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