It is not unusual to write off rent when there is a dispute between landlord and tenant of if the landlord feels the move will allow the tenant (if he/she is a good one) to bring their rent up to date and get back in good standing. If fact if you go to court for rent arrears as a landlord or as a tenant, most judges will stand the case down and ask the party to try reach an agreement. For legal entities in the US, they would ask that you seek arbitration before bringing the case to trial. But there has to be some benefit to the landlord for writing off rent arrears. In this case it appears the move was more political. Giving up one of five stores, three of which you shouldn't have in the first place is no benefit. And after the 'agreement ' the tenant did not seem to bring her rent up to date or even pay current rent as it became due. So the traveling John Q Public must now pay as NAD continues to increase passenger fees as well as fees for airlines that operate out of LPIA. Airports like Ft. Lauderdale has virtually eliminated retail space in the main airport terminals so once passengers complete checking in they will proceed to the gates. So not only will the stores at the gates experience higher traffic but they can also charge higher prices to a captive audience. On the other some airports like ones in Charlotte and Atlanta have grown their retail space to almost shopping mall levels. The same with the dining experience, so much so that many passengers are left wishing they had more time to spend at the airport and those having long layovers have a lot to do before getting bored

Obviously the company, like BPL and others, has a cash control problem. Money disappearing in the operation. If fact that was the reason suspected behind the resignation of a key person in the company. Major companies around the world are in great efforts to make their companies more cash-less as a way of gaining more control. Banks, most of them, have converted their clients cards to either debit or credit cards, again to reduce the amount of cash in their system and even to all customers to make cashless transactions with other institutions. A major setback here if if a cardholder travels abroad or makes transactions online the Bahamian dollar is no longer on par. And when you add transactions fees and VAT along with interest on unpaid balances, credit cards, especially can become very expensive. Sebastian is touting that the interest rates on his cards will be 7 percent compared to the 12-20% charged on traditional cards.

With all that is being exposed by the new FNM government nothing in the disclosures will come as a surprise. Furthermore those mp's who used their positions in government to self enrich themselves know how to hide their ill gott loot VI's a VI's forming companies and shell companies. So now laws have to be amended so that parliamentarians and election candidates must disclose their financial interest in any company and the value.

Despite the criticism I would bet you $1million, Seba's IPO will be sucked up like leaves in a tornado. Especially if if he is granted license for electronic "transfer" payments. And it may be favorably considered as his point that his web shops are present in many Family Island communities where commercial banking is non-existant. The people have no way of receiving money or cashing their checks, even old age pensions. Sebas is trying to solidify his presence in the market by going public. That way the government will not be negotiating will Sebas and Island luck, but with several thousand common shareholders. And they mosy all would be voters in general elections.

what did Tal say?

The fundamental point is this woman had five stores! The first thing you do if not generating a profit is downsize. give up at least two of the stores and cut down on your overhead. LPIA is not a cheap place to rent and, of course the prices in the stores surely reflect that. Even parking there has increased 3 fold. This woman was hoggish and she knew she could get away with not paying because she was a big PLP crab. It's the people's money, and now it's the people's time! The government must recover some of this hundreds of millions if they are to ever put this country back on its feet. They had people being paid millions as consultants and never ever hitting a lick!

As more and more of the economic carnage that is exposed that happened under the Perry Christie government is exposed the desire to walk up to them and spit (yes spit) on their faces increases. Imagine that you a Bahamian taxpayer struggling to keep a job or kept your business open and they squandered so many millions and tirlef so much millions more. I say spit on Perry dem every time you see them and don't let them spend your money in dignity. Including D Shane Gibson who think he still owns Bahamasair

Is it merely a cake decoration as Sebas is planning an IPO? So the offering will be highly overpriced, based on a level of profits that definitely not sustainable.

And if you think Bay Street is in bad shape, go visit Freeport. So many businesses are closed and so many buildings are damaged or falling apart it must be depressing for the tourist to see. And after driving through the settlements West of Freeport, one could not help but wonder how the people are surviving. But the good thing is their spirits are not broken.

> If the property owners on Bay Street
> are so cash strapped that they cannot
> afford some paint to paint the outside
> of their building, then they should
> not own a property on the main street
> paraded by thousands of tourists
> weekly.

If you owned property that has been sitting vacant for over 10 years what do you think your cash position would be? And consider that property taxes are still being levied on that property despite there being no income from it. What would be your attitude towards fixing and maintaining the property? And then think that there is no potential in the immediate future for the property to start generating revenue. Case in point. The brothers that owned Mikes Shoe Store invested millions on the mini shopping plaza on the water front. Their investment came at the height of the decline of Bay Street. So now not only is their main property unoccupied on Bay Street, but they have a hard time keeping tenants in the shopping plaza. So imagine if they are paying a mortgage on the plaza and still having to pay property taxes and maintenance and upkeep. How long will they be able to sustain this? Will it be fair for the government to take their property after all their struggles and effort to revive Bay Street? But on the other hand the Chinese were given approval in principle to construct several high rise buildings on Bay Street by the previous government. Did they really do a feasibility study? No.! The tract record of the Chines is they build and construct many projects, then abandon them and leave them empty. imagine bay street with several high rise buildings empty and unkept. So yes the way to go, at least for now, is to restore Bay Street similar to what is being done in Miami. Then as the need arises allow high rises to be constructed.