Mr. Dick Van Dijk Chief Executive Officer Zublin-Grenada Dear Mr. Van Dijk, Re Rude, Offensive and Out of Order Up until now I had directed all my comments, queries and concerns in respect of interventions and proposals by Zublin -Grenada to the ministers of the current and past administration. However, since you have graciously introduced yourself and invited me to your office so that you could advise me of “the facts” in respect of the St. George’s Renaissance project, I thought that it would be fitting to address a letter directly to you. I take the opportunity to address you on the following issues: Your attitude as displayed in your various media appearances Casino gambling Zublin interventions and proposed interventions in Grenada Cruise Port of the Hague 1. Your Attitude: By now, Mr. van Dijk, you ought to be well aware that we the people find your attitude rude, out of order and highly offensive. We are unaware as to who /what has given you the impression that you and Zublin “run things” in Grenada. We are quite certain that we did not vote you into office. We are at a loss to understand your absolutely disrespectful attitude to our political leaders, both current and past. Perhaps they have frolicked and hob-nobbed with you. King Ajamu’s thoughtful calypso reminds we the people that “ when you play with puppy, puppy go lick yuh face”. Maybe you know something about them that we the people do not know? Did any or all of them promise you something that: they did not deliver? they did not have any intention of delivering? they were/are unable to deliver? Whatever the reason(s), suffice it to say that we the people take umbrage to your disrespectful attitude displayed towards our Prime Minister, Ministers of Government and, by extension, we the people. 2. Casino Licence: Mr. Dijk, we the people want to know why a casino licence is/was such a sticking point for Zublin? Why is a casino licence the pre-condition to the next Zublin investment in Grenada? Is this insistence on the granting of a casino licence related in any way to a suit brought against St. George’s Newport by a company called Harbour Holdings - Harbour Holdings vs. St. George’s Newport Property Development Co. Ltd., Grenada - Claim No.: GDAHCV2007/0585? Or is it merely co-incidence? To the best of the knowledge of we the people, St. George’s Newport Property Development Co. Ltd is the holder of the 99-year lease of the reclaimed lands of the Melville Street cruise port area. St. George’s Newport entered into an agreement with a company called Harbour Holdings Ltd. for the purchase a lot of land, Lot 8 - at an agreed purchase price of US$4,359,360 - for the purpose of the establishment of a world class casino gaming facility. Later, by letter of 2nd Nov. 2007, St. George’s Newport advised Harbour Holdings that it was rescinding the agreement. Harbour Holdings responding by filing a claim against St. George’s Newport in December 2007. The questions Mr. van Dyke are: Did St. George’s Newport Property Dev. Co. covenant with Harbour Holdings Ltd. that should Lot 8 be purchased and a casino building be constructed, the St. George’s Newport Property Dev. Co would obtain from the Government of Grenada, a casino gaming licence which would be assigned to Harbour Holdings? How much did Harbour Holdings advance by way of deposits re purchase of the said lot? What is the current status of this claim? 3. St. George’s Renaissance Project: I am at a loss, Mr. Van Dyke, to understand all the “bru-ha-ha” that your project is causing. It appears to me to be a deliberate attempt (in a democracy of course) to undermine the authority of the Hon. Prime Minister and the Cabinet. It has gone to the RIDICULOUS EXTENT where supposedly sensible people are suggesting that the Prime Minister spoke out of turn when he publicly announced his opposition to casino gambling as part of an economic development strategy and questioning his judgment re his opposition to casino gambling. Be advised, Mr. Van Dyke that we the people voted for our Prime Minister because of his moral fortitude. We would expect NO LESS from him!! It is my considered opinion, Sir, is that your proposals DID NOT MERIT the setting up of any Cabinet appointed Committee to review your proposal. That was putting the cart before the horse. What was first required was a THOROUGH REVIEW of Zublin’s initial interventions in Grenada, beginning with the financial and economic feasibility studies, as well as the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments that informed your company’s intervention. 4. Review of Phase 1: What did your company PROMISE and what did it actually DELIVER? With the blessings of the former NNP regime, there was a rather peculiar sort of private-public partnership where we the people (through the Grenada Ports Authority) incurred a loan to pay for land reclamation and the reclaimed lands were then handed to Zublin on a 99-year lease. And it would seem that you expected this kind of public-private partnership as some kind of right of passage in respect of your current proposals. Zublin’s DEFICIT in delivery has been re-iterated time after time, including its grandiose claims about making Grenada a homeport. The reality is that when there are sea surges, liners experience great difficulty on the new cruise ship terminal. Recall the experience of the Logos, docked on the new, modern (?) cruise ship terminal, which had to close its doors to visitors and anchor further out for safety. After that incident/event, it made haste and docked in the inner harbour. In March 2008, during the Easter week(on Holy Thursday to be exact) , sea surges caused waves to crash all over the Esplanade and into the tunnel, disrupting traffic. The cruise liners COULD NOT DOCK since it was UNSAFE. So much for being a home port!! We the people ought to also take note Mr. Van Dyke, that the attitude of mega cruise liners which really only want a place to “park” for a short while is summed up as follows by the Executive of a major cruise line - “after all the ship is the attraction! Not the port of call!” Perhaps Mr. Van Dyke you could justify why should Grenada be incurring debt to build an additional cruise jetty when the annual report of the company of which you are the Chief Executive Officer seems to suggests prudence. According to Grenreal’s Annual Report for the period April 2009-March 2010): There was an increase of 10.8 percent in the cruise passengers arrivals (324,000 in 2009; cf 295,200 in 2008) GROWTH DID NOT COMPENSATE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF DECLINE IN SPENDING BY CRUISE PASSENGERS, negative development in stay-over tourism and decline in domestic spending. The result was unexpected termination of some leases (mostly domestic) among the tenants. Economic conditions caused some pressure on the collection of rents during the course of the year. Total comprehensive deficit of the company for the period was EC$7,641,830 compared with a comprehensive income of EC$ 5,990,700 in 2008. The report, Mr. Van Dyke, speaks for itself. Cruise Port of the Hague: It is significant, Sir, that Zublin-Grenada has not been blowing its trumpet about the this project which a consortium - of which Zublin – Grenada is a part – has been pursuing in the Netherlands since 2005/2006!!?? At what stage is this project? How many public consultations have there been on this matter? How many technical studies and impact studies hav the “developers’” been required to do? Grenada would do well to be so guided. Adios Zublin: You have recently announced the intention of your company to “pack up and leave”. Frankly, this appears to another “out of order” attempt to “force the government’s hand in respect of the granting of a casino licence. But we the people do not shed any tears for the threat of Zublin’s imminent’s departure. Frankly, Sir, I do not think that there is any LOSS to our country. It would be a relief to know that Grenada would not be further at risk to any of Zublin’s ill-conceived, ill-directed and ill-advised investments. To date, your company has fared well while Grenada is left holding the debt. Grenada deserves much better than Zublin!! Sincerely yours, Sandra C.A. Ferguson