By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AS the public awaits further details from the government on the Grand Lucayan resort sale, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has questioned whether the government has received the $120m from the transaction.

“The prime minister said that we would receive information soon,”said Dr Minnis, “One has to believe or trust what he says. He must come forth with it. He do not want to show the nation that he gave a big fat lie, not only to the nation, but to the world.”

“Therefore I have wait for him to bring forth what he has promised to prove to me, the nation and the world that our prime minister did not come and give the nation a big fat lie because remember, the deputy prime minister said the money is in the bank. I asked which bank. They have not told me. It’s not in Royal Bank. It’s not in Scotia Bank. Whose bank is it in?”

The Grand Lucayan has been a contentious issue for Grand Bahama since the Minnis administration bought it in 2018 for $65m to protect tourism and jobs. A proposed deal with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and ITM Group was scrapped when the PLP took office in 2021, and multiple sale attempts have since stalled.

In May, the Davis administration signed a Heads of Agreement with US-based Concord Wilshire for a $120m sale of the resort. Prime Minister Philip Davis touted the $827m redevelopment project as “ambitious,” promising 1,300 construction jobs and more than 1,700 permanent positions, 80 percent of which would be held by Bahamians.

However, the public has received little updates on its progress since the announcement.

Meanwhile, the Free National Movement has repeatedly called on the Davis administration to provide an update on the status of the resort, particularly concerning current operations and the future of employees.