Wednesday, October 24, 2018
By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
PRESS Secretary Anthony Newbold said yesterday the Minnis administration is well within its rights to push ahead with its proposed relocation of the General Post Office to the Town Centre Mall, adding that the current owners of the mall will cover the cost of renovations before the relocation.
He was addressing reporters on the government's timeline moving forward, noting the resolution to approve the move will be debated today in the House of Assembly.
According to Mr Newbold, despite the criticism the move has garnered in recent days, the Minnis administration has no plans to walk back its decision.
"The government is going there," he told members of the press. "That is the plan to get those employees at the post office out of their misery."
Mr Newbold said the government is of the view that the crisis at the General Post Office has been left to fester far too long, adding that a resolution is critical.
Addressing the position taken by the Official Opposition, Mr Newbold said the former administration did what it thought was in the best interest of the Bahamian people when it was presented with an opportunity and given the outcome, the Minnis administration now finds itself in a position to make its own decision.
"They decided to go in a different direction, as was their right," he noted.
"This government has decided it is going to take up the Town Centre Mall option, as is its right," he added. "And that is what is going to happen. Again, we don't want to belabour, what I call the travails of the people who work at the General Post Office; half a day, the air-conditioning not working, the flood from rain, people getting sick, sick outs."
Additionally, Mr Newbold also said that the current owners of Town Centre Mall will cover the cost of renovations ahead of the relocation.
Mr Newbold said it is the expectation of the Minnis administration that the space would be made ready for occupancy "at the expense of the landlord."
A point Mr Newbold said he thought important to point out given the ongoing public discourse surrounding the level of investment the government is willing to put into the property to prepare it for the operations of the post office.
When asked if there was a financial cap and timeline for the renovations, Mr Newbold said he was uncertain.
He stated: "The bottom line is, the post office is going there. That is the decision. And so, if you are going to rent to (house) the post office, you are going to have to ensure that whatever it is you are going to do, can accommodate the post office."
Comments
ThisIsOurs says...
The space was earning zero income for decades, agreeing to pay the cost of renovation is a moot point. They'll still come out on top. I'm not sure where I am on this one. AllI know is, "in general", this government has been moving closer and closer to the "shady" tree
Posted 24 October 2018, 5:48 p.m. Suggest removal
Clamshell says...
Great plan. Now they can fail to deliver the mail from far nicer offices.
Posted 24 October 2018, 6:01 p.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Yep ............ and the PLP and their PEPs are spitting mad ....... it makes them look like real thieves and crooks based on what they did 2012-17 with our money.
Posted 24 October 2018, 6:30 p.m. Suggest removal
John says...
People living in the USA needed something to drink (with alcohol in it) So Brent Symonette daddy decided to run rum..same thing, different day..any questions? And give him a hero's award still ya c.
Posted 24 October 2018, 6:33 p.m. Suggest removal
Clamshell says...
Hey, if he can deliver the mail as efficiently as his daddy delivered rum, then OK by me!
Posted 24 October 2018, 6:50 p.m. Suggest removal
John says...
But can he..das my question still
Posted 24 October 2018, 7:39 p.m. Suggest removal
BahamaPundit says...
Of course Brent will pay for the renovations. What the public doesn't realize is Mr. Symonette probably doesn't care that much about the rent the Gov will pay. He would probably be willing to lease the same space for $10 or even $8 a square foot!!!! What he cares about is getting Bahamians back into his abandoned establishment. The currency of having thousands of Bahamians enter his Mall each month to use the post office is priceless!!!! It means business owners will clamber to rent shop spaces in his Mall at higher prices!!! This is a definite conflict of interest and could be a payback for Brent funding the FNM ellection campaign.
Posted 24 October 2018, 7:07 p.m. Suggest removal
John says...
Remember you must also add to the cost of the decision to move the Post Office to the Brent Symnonette's Town canter Mall, the costs associated with acquiring and pre-preparation cost of the Phil's property on Gladstone Road as well as the costs to terminate the Independence Shopping Center deal and also the additional costs of and misery of having the post office staff working part time..(3 days) due to the delay of not moving into Independence Shopping Plaza since early last year. Round that off to $10 Million. easily. And not to mention people are only now receiving their mail posted from May/June 2018..
Posted 24 October 2018, 7:44 p.m. Suggest removal
John says...
So if my wife has twins and I am not in the delivery room when she gives birth, does that mean I am not the father? Asking for a friend who just excluded himself from the debate on Town Center Mall.
Posted 24 October 2018, 8:35 p.m. Suggest removal
OriginalBey says...
I love the analogy. The outcome is predetermined. Ergo, the so called debate is a mere formality.
Posted 25 October 2018, 8:45 a.m. Suggest removal
yeahyasee says...
LOL nice one
Posted 25 October 2018, 10:10 a.m. Suggest removal
OriginalBey says...
I am not rendering an opinion on where the government move its post office operations. It is a conflict of interest. That's not an opinion. It's a fact. My concern though is what are we doing with all of these condemned government owned buildings? We have a set behind McDonald's on Bay Street. We have the one on Thompson Boulevard. The other building on Shirley Street opposite Bank of the Bahamas. Now the post office on East Hill Street and I am sure this is not a comprehensive listing. Will there ever be a plan to get these upgraded or blown up and start from scratch to use the property and re-build? Does any administration ever think long term and not confine everything they do within the 5 year term with the hope that it's enough to win re-election? I'll wait.
Posted 25 October 2018, 7:57 a.m. Suggest removal
Schemer18 says...
Say what "renovations"? So why is this government wasting State money to wait on a "renovations" of an old pissy building, when they can build a new building on that State Property by the Independence Highway? They are making it worst to save State Monies by tying the State into these bogus deals. They could of been employing young Bahamians with that money, & do these people we hire care about the country?
Posted 25 October 2018, 10:38 a.m. Suggest removal
sirD says...
So, the property known as Phil's is still on the table? All we care is if we send a important letter to anywhere outside of the Bahamas, they get it withing a few weeks, So many that I have sent never reach the destination, We do not have a real Postal System in the Bahamas, A few that I knew that were sent to me with cash in them, never arrived, can't kill the thieves in this country
Posted 25 October 2018, 2:04 p.m. Suggest removal
sirD says...
Last time I needed a letter (Very Important) I sent it to my brother in the states via FedEx costing $42.00. The first one never arrived and it cost me dearly to a Govt Agency in the States. What can I say, The Postal Service SUCKS here, I get my BEC bill 3 months late and Cable 2 months late, If I waited for the bills, everything would be shut off, so go pay them monthly and guess what it is......
Posted 25 October 2018, 2:14 p.m. Suggest removal
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