The manager of Buccament Bay Resort said they were not speaking to the media on Thursday amidst reports that the electricity supply at the resort was disconnected.
Sources in the know told I-Witness News that the electricity was off but did not know why.
VINLEC, when asked if there was a problem with the supply in Buccament Bay, said “in the vicinity of the resort”.
But the entities bordering the resort on both sides had power when I-Witness News visited just before noon Thursday.
I-Witness News asked to see the manager and a front desk employee went to the manager’s office and returned after a few minutes saying, “The manager does not want to talk to the media today.”
Asked why, the employee said the manager was in a meeting.
The employee, when asked, said they could not say whether there was an interruption to the electricity supply at the resort.
Roof lights were on in the dining area at the front of the resort, but I-Witness News was unable to verify the source of the electricity.
But things seemed normal at the resort with guests and staff walking about and guest lounging on deck chairs and reading books at the beachfront while others swam in the pool and the sea.
A public relations firm in Barbados, when contacted, said they no longer work for the resort.
Further, a call to the mobile number of a senior resort spokesperson went unanswered and I-Witness News understand that the publicist no longer works for the resort.
The Buccament Bay Resort is owned by Harlequin Property, a British firm that is the source of legal challenges in the United Kingdom.
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said in February that while his Government has given many concessions to the resort, he has told state officials that on the issue of electricity consumption, they should be dealt with as with any other customer.
“I said deal with people in arrears in the way in which you always deal with your big customers who are in arrears, or any other customer for that matter.
“You notify them and you give them a time to settle and if they don’t make arrangement to settle, you do what you have to do — you cut them off,” Gonsalves said then.
(Read: Gov’t has taken ‘tough positions’ against Buccament resort — PM)
Gonsalves further said the resort is the largest consumer of electricity here — about $300,000 a month.
I-Witness News understands that Dave Ames, chair of Harlequin, sent his son, Matthew Ames, to manage the resort earlier this year.
When you treat everything as a personal deal, your own deal, instead of the countries deal, sooner or later things will fall apart.
The airport was put to us as one mans deal, its falling apart. ‘Look its me I did this’
Buccament was put to us as one mans deal, its falling apart. ‘Look its me I did this’
When its your deal and you promise things, people expect you to conclude your promise in a timely and honourable fashion.
When Ames was promised an international airport, to be finished two or more years ago, a facility without which it was agreed that the resort couldn’t operate efficiently. Ames is deeply pissed off with the results and will probably blame our politicians for the whole downfall of all Harlequins projects world wide.
To be stuck with some of the worlds most expensive electricity, no international airport and a basket of broken promises, there has got to be a lot of bad feeling.
The resorts has been plagued by political ponce’s taking food by the car load for party’s and all sorts of other plunder.
Accusations of corruption, still to be properly investigated.
Ames given Vincentian citizenship and a passport to match.
We will have to wait and see which side can now inflict the most spite.
My advice to Buccament is to give the FRANCIS boy a call, and stick it to him, because as he said if there is any problem with payments, he will sort it out. We Vincentians regard him as our unelected, unelectable MR FIXIT. I am not even going to mention the US $1 Million taken to NCB.
I would expect Buccament to have their own stand-by generators, they will probably spend much less than $300,000 a month for diesel. No resort can afford such a utility cost without eventually being crippled.
It seems that Ames may be getting a ‘shakedown’. A Vinlec worker was suspended while doing her job so these things don’t just happen. Ames was responsible for the last facelift, fans and paint, at the E.T Joshua some years ago and now he may have to fix the Leeward road leading to the resort.
KS784, it may surprise you and many others that Harlequin already paid some years ago for the road to be rehabilitated, and it was repaired to a good standard. The problem is that this government do not maintain the roads, they do not make small repairs when needed, they wait until the roads falls apart.
The refurbishment of the airport at Arnos Vale was carried out by a company called Ridgeview Ltd, they were the first contractors at Buccament. They also fitted 16 ceiling fans in the departure and ticketing area, within a few weeks all those fans disapeared, stolen. Ames will never fix anything in SVG again, its only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses, the money has dried up, like the government they are broke. The fraud squad and other Board of Trade and police departments in the UK are looking into Harlequin in the UK and world-wide. There could well be a billion dollars adrift somewhere. Harlequin in the UK are in the hands of administrators and under serious investigation.
They have taken money for projects in Barbados, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Thailand, Australia, Brazil and many other places, whilst only building in SVG. All the money, billions has to be accounted for.
The SVG Government new about these going on’s years ago, but for some reason chose to ignore it and didn’t give a damn.
When Buccament fails the ULP government, some of its ministers and Dave Ames will be to blame.
I am sure Ames will blame the lies he was told about having an International Airport up and running two years ago.
Sorry in my comments of July 5, I said there may well be a billion dollars adrift, I should of said Pounds Sterling.