By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A former prime minister yesterday demanded an explanation for why the Central Bank’s proposed new headquarters building at Royal Victoria Gardens in downtown Nassau was “terminated’.

Dr Hubert Minnis, speaking in the House of Assembly on the Central Bank of The Bahamas Act amendments, questioned whether a Cabinet decision was behind the move given that Parliament had already approved the land transfer from the Government to the financial services industry regulator.

Noting that the project had started under the last Christie administration, and carried on through his own, he suggested that millions of dollars - up to $12m - could be wasted if the project does not proceed. “Parliament approved the transfer of Crown Land to the Central Bank. Why was the decision made not to go ahead with this major project? Was this a Cabinet decision,” Dr Minnis asked.

“The cancellation of the new headquarters at that site is very disturbing and begs many questions that need to be answered. As we noted, in office we were giving consideration to using the old Central Bank complex as a potential temporary museum space for the enjoyment of Bahamians and visitors.”

The Central Bank announced earlier this month that it had “terminated” plans to construct its new headquarters building on the Royal Victoria Gardens site, and is now in the process of transferring the property’s ownership back to the Government.

No explanation was given for why the new Central Bank project, which has been planned since 2017, has been abandoned although Tribune Business sources suggested months ago that the Government was expressing the view that it should not proceed. The development was designed to be an “iconic structure” and a “one-of-a-kind building” that was to play a central role in the overall revival of downtown Nassau.

“The Central Bank of The Bahamas wishes to advise the public that it has terminated its project to construct a new headquarters building on the Royal Victoria Gardens site in downtown Nassau,” the Central Bank said. “Accordingly, the Central Bank has started the process to transfer ownership of the property back to the Government so that alternative use can be made of the site.

“In 2017, the Government agreed to transfer the Royal Victoria Gardens to the Central Bank for development of its new headquarters building. The transfer was approved by Parliament in 2019 and executed in 2022. In 2018, the Central Bank hosted a competition and selected a conceptual building design from Architecton Design Studios. The firm was subsequently contracted to provide the architectural services for the project. The Central Bank will explore alternative arrangements to meet its long-term accommodations needs.”

Dr Minnis, meanwhile, slammed the Government over changes to the Central Bank Act Bill that have been made retroactive to December 1, 2022, to facilitate its use of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $232.3m Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

“The Central Bank Amendment Bill seeks to make provision for the insertion immediately after section 17 of a new section, 17A, to empower the minister to access, utilise or convert special drawing rights allocated by the International Monetary Fund for the purpose of reducing its foreign currency debt obligations and to manage its foreign currency debt operations.

“When made law, section two of this amendment takes effect from December 1, 2022. It is the responsibility of the minister of finance to ensure that proper rules and procedures are followed when it comes to oversight of the people’s money. If the rules were not followed properly, and now the administration has to pass a law to justify its behaviour, the minister of finance bears the blame for what occurred.”

Referring to the Davis administration’s preliminary approval of Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island project, he argued that it was in “disarray” over whether the development has been given the full go-ahead or not. He pointed to one report where the Prime Minister referred to the Royal Caribbean deal as a “draft,” while the deputy prime minister said the Government had approved the project.

Dr Minnis also argued that his successor changed his story by after saying a ground breaking for the project was to happen “almost immediately”, only to be followed by Glenys Hanna Martin, minister for education, saying the Royal Caribbean deal should not be approved.

He added: “The Cabinet is in utter disarray and confusion. So, within a matter of weeks the minister of finance didn’t know the deficit numbers and blamed his mistake on someone else. Two Bills were pulled at the last minute; there is open dissension on a Cabinet matter; and now there is confusion about the state of a proposed investment.”