Sebass Gets His Way
(Editor’s note: we reprint the statement from the Leader of the Opposition Philip Davis on the failure of the Town Planning Committee to approve the forward movement of the project of the Veridian Development Group out at Lyford Cay. The beneficial owner is the web shop owner Sebass Bastian. He took to the press in an angry assault at the Committee which is headed by Diane Holowesko Dunkley, who is the daughter of former Senate President Lynn Holowesko who is herself the Chair of the Government’s Ease Of Business Committee. There is another project in Lyford Cay which carried the permit number of another project in Lyford Cay owned by Mark Holowesko of Island House. He is the brother of the Town Planning Committee Chair and the son of the Chair of the Ease Of Business Committee. The Committee later pleaded that the number appeared at the property in error. Mr. Bastian said after not being able to move forward since the stop order in October 2017, he smelled a rat. His attorney Alfred Sears Q C wrote a letter of demand and Mr. Bastian went to the press. He said that the country operated on a double standard, with one rule for one and another rule for others. He thought that the actions of the Committee were unfair. Within days, the Committee issued the instructions to go forward.)
Statement From The Office of The Leader of the Opposition
On The Reports Of Delays On Project At Lyford Cay
7 May 2018
I have taken note of the reports in the press about delays in the building project of Veridian Development Group Ltd at Lyford Cay and the knock on issues of loss of investment capital and the loss of employment opportunities.
Given the public statements of the parties, it is sufficient for the Government of The Bahamas and the agencies involved to issue some kind of public statements to the reasons for the delays.
It also seems that there is sufficient in the back and forth in the press and the personalities involved for the Government and its agencies to explain whether there are any credible instances of self-dealing in the approach to approvals for the Veridian project.
The delays seem to fly in the face of the creed of the Government to improve the ease of doing business in The Bahamas and would seem to be a disincentive to other entrepreneurs to invest in their homeland.
End