UPM in mystery talks to give Barkers land to Dart
(CNS): The government has issued a brief statement about the approval of a mystery Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the islands largest land owner Dart Enterprises Limited. Dart has been looking to secure beachfront property in Barkers reserve in order to develop a luxury, exclusive resort in this West Bay, largely untouched, natural beauty spot with enormous cultural significance for local people.
Despite being a minority administration and around 12 weeks away from nomination day and the start of the general election campaign the UPM appears to have signed a deal and said almost nothing about it, or the close door talks that appear to have been going on for several weeks leading to the MOU’s approval.
CNS has submitted several questions and asked for the MOU to be released and we are awaiting a response.
The talks and the subsequent secret deal appear to be linked to the $38million that government owes Dart for ending the ‘dump deal’ talks this summer over the beleaguered waste-management plan. And as was asked by Kathy Ebanks-Wilks in parliament last week it seems government is hoping to use the much loved location to pay-off the debt fuelled by the catalog of errors surrounding the failed waste-management contract.
According to the release Dart and the government appear to be also renegotiating the National Roads Authority Agreement first set in motion by McKeeva Bush more than fourteen years ago. The short statement said that the goal of the MOU was to advance, resolve and create agreements on the NRA agreement, the ISWMS and Barkers National Park and to “define actionable steps for efficient execution and seamless transition between administrations.”
“A government negotiation team has been appointed by Cabinet to use all reasonable endeavours under the MOU to facilitate the development of resolutions for the agreements and provide advice to Cabinet. The team, which will be led by Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, includes the financial secretary and relevant chief officers,” officials stated.
The controversial NRA Agreement which closed a chunk of the West Bay Road and paved the way for the Kimpton and Indigo hotels was finalised in 2016 with execution of the 3rd Amendment. The deal has had a mixed response given the fact that Dart gained a lot and the people less-so given the lost access to significant parts of Seven Mile Beach. What was billed as a multi-faceted economic stimulus agreement also led to the construction of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway from West Bay to George Town.
“The MOU seeks to achieve resolution on execution of obligations in the NRA Agreement to facilitate recovery of fees related to significant investment in infrastructure and developments that drove positive economic activity during the financial crisis and through the pandemic, border closure and recovery period,” the government stated.
CNS has asked the government if the premier plans to hold a press conference on this MOU given the significant public interest and the impact on the community but at this stage there has been no indication from the government communication department that this is going to happen.
“Government intends to close on the agreements before the end of February 2025 and will keep members of the public informed via official channels as the negotiations progress,” officials stated in the release.
Commenting on the MOU in the press release the premier, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said discussions on the matters in the memorandum have been ongoing for many years.
“We know it is in the best interest of the country and our people to bring them to mutually agreeable closure,” she said. “The agreements have spanned numerous governments and we wish to achieve clarity and not pass on ambiguity to future governments.”
Chief Executive Officer of Dart, Mark VanDevelde said the group appreciated the Cabinets’ willingness . “We appreciate the Premier’s and Cabinet’s willingness to engage with Dart to address these outstanding commitments and new agreements,” Chief Executive Officer Mark VanDevelde stated. “We look forward to working with the Deputy Governor and the Cabinet-appointed team on efficient and mutually beneficial outcomes.”
The Cayman Islands Government said it intends to close on the agreements before the end of February 2025 and will keep members of the public informed via official channels as the negotiations progress.
How this deal ends could therefore become a major election issue. Dart has been seeking to swap land it owns in the centre of Barkers with the small amount of beach front land that the crown owns to enable the interior to be designated a national park and for the developer to create an exclusive resort on one of the last remaining stretches of natural beach and mangrove habitat on Grand Cayman. CNS has not been able to confirm if this deal now touches on that goal or whether government is actually swapping land in Salt Creek in exchange for land at the head of Barkers to facilitate a national park with some beach front access.
Local activists have also been very, vocal about preserving this area and protecting it from development for many years. This latest announcement is likely to trigger a surge in the campaign and add further fuel for conservation to be at the centre of the 2025 election campaign.
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Category: Local News
More and more I am understanding why other countries have revolutions and overthrow governments. This UPM bunch must be the most corrupt government these islands have ever fallen prey to. Now a minority government, why the hell is Julie and crew being allowed to commit an atrocity such as this?! Caymanians for the love of your islands and your future, STAND up!! For once, stand up against this wrong and further destruction of these islands!
Scrap the Brac school & use the money to pay off Dart. Better yet, scrap the school & build the dump.
I love Whitehall letting us hang ourselves.
Does not matter one iota whether it’s TCI, BVI, Pitcairn or Cayman for that matter it always ends the same, rampant corruption, endemic poor governance and yet the UK does nothing.
And yet the Jamaican interlopers and wannabes still claim we should be independent, as if we aren’t already.
Anguilla and Bermuda seem to be doing ok from I can tell. So there’s that.
Bullcrap! Sick in the head UPM! I am so tired of these puppets in government 🤢 please Lord, send good, honest and decent people to through their hats in the upcoming elections who will really be for the Caymanian people and these beautiful Cayman Islands 🇰🇾 🙏🙏🙏
Dart and his team are too greedy. Leave that waterfront area undeveloped for our future generation to enjoy.
Greed. Greed. 😭
DART’s superiority in negotiating at the table with the Cayman Islands Govt is an absolute farce. Is this related to any of the amendments to the Conversation Law that’s also currently going through the MLA’s fingertips?
Building a hotel in a National Park, untouched natural habitat, why the F**K can we not preserve anything? Why the F**K does every inch of this island have to be paved over for another concrete eyesore that’s found everywhere else in the world?
We need people leading this country who actually give a F about it, can actually represent US and OUR interests, not a billionaire recluse whose MO is vulture capitalism. He’s been kicked out of other countries for doing the same f**king thing!
How many hotels do we need FFS?
This country has been turned into the personal lego land of a foreigner, who might have status but does not live here, who is destroying it before our very eyes. Our Govt is not representing the people, nor the country, they are simply bending over, rubber stamping and giving it all away.
Enough is enough.
A foreigner not dissimilar tae yersel.
Maybe just ask you know who if you want to fact check. Or did you burn that bridge a little too far?
OMG, what is wrong with our F$%&ing government. They say Caymanians are giving away their heritage, but government is worse. When will we wake up and stop this madness. we could pay for the outstanding bills if the concessions stopped. Somebody has to wake up and smell the the ‘BullS$%&’ and get us out of this mess, they are putting us in. There will be nothing left for our children or grandchildren.
We are screwed. Again. Still. Whatever. Those that had the power to make a positive difference chose to screw us and the next generation. NOTHING has been done that benefits the people. NOTHING will be done to benefit us. Where are the bike lanes? Too late for Grand Cayman. Brac is in process of tearing up the roads for the second time, and still no bike lanes.
We have to mitigate the dump! It should be the primary action item!! NOT move it to the detriment of everyone along the path and the benefit of Dart! Mitigate in place and get the [vulgar expletive] recycling on-line and working!! Everywhere else in the world can do it, but we sit on our heels panting like good dogs waiting for Dart to lead the way.
We have to fix the high cost of health care! Our forced pension plan is broken, and people like me are being forced to live on about $ 1000 per month, give or take a few dollars. I have no health care, because, silly me, I had to choose between [same vulgar expletive] EATing and paying my bills and health care. Don’t worry about me though. I’ll soon enough be dead and out of your hair; I’m sure there is yet time for a few more raises for our MPs before I go. You bastards. You make all of us pay for your folly. I have to pray that karma exists.
Disgraceful. So much corruption for such a small country.
Why give away the little natural land we have left? This is our land and the elected officials – soon to be unelected, I hope – need to leave it alone..
You lot are hilarious
Well done Caymanians. Good on you. Sell it all off and be done with it.
Caymanians selling out Cayman again. Same old…but the furriners and expats and foreign developers and all the other evil things right?!
Those in CI Govt are f***ing criminals, anywhere else in the world they’d be gone.
Dart is a f***ing menace and I continue to boycott all that he has that I know…
They all need to go ..
Criminals
Nothing less.
A betrayal of the people’s to give away their assets
How in the world did this bunch of geniuses wind up blowing all our money with the vulture Dart and now give him our land? All done behind closed doors by the brain dead Seymour and supreme blow the money O’Connor. What are they getting in return? How can the Governor just sit their and let this all transpire? Disgusting and completely immoral.
What if Dart wants to turn it into a National Park and leave it completely untouched?
I suppose we can all dream.
Dream yes. They started brilliantly donating land for public beaches in most districts (the staff member that suggested this to them in the 90’s should get recognition). Since then it’s been a one way street in Darts favour. Successive governments given things away in concessions & land swaps.
Mark VanDevelde how do your Caymanian children feel about this?
Jim Lammers I’m surprised you can still come to this island and not be verbally attacked at what your Dart over development has done to the island.
No wonder Dart has started to rape and pillage another Caribbean island.
Enough. Give us back all the Barkers land Ken Dart bought in the 90’s.
And what if the premier wants to go on Weight Watchers to look like a model, Bush comes clean on all his dirty deals, Seymour quits drinking and gets rid of his donkey? Dream on that one.
Ain’t no profits in parks.
Yup, keep dreaming 😳
Then he can transfer it to the National Trust.
uh-oh..looks like ‘we broke’ again…
have to sell assets to pay for cig failures in years of wasteful negotiations
This is what happens when you let the fox into the hen house.
ha ha ha ha ha ha…idiots!
CIG always bringing a knife to a gunfight.
we need a revolution of the people against these money-hoarding land-losing classists. they take our beachfront and then have the audacity to put “no parking” signs on the side of the road at all the public beach access points. ENOUGH. the MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT need to STAND UP FOR THE PEOPLE, not for Dart and his money-seeking power-hungry team. get out of our islands.
Big Mac made Kenneth Dart and his minions Caymanians
then don’t sell your land
Weeks ago, the government pulled all of those sticks up on West Bay Road and now they have permanent “No Parking” signs up blocking off larger swaths of parking for public beach access points.
Spoiler alert, they will get away with it and you can be sure a cop tickets you because of the wealthy owners.
Will the “civil service negotiating team” declare their individual conflict of interest with the dart group? Clearly this should be placed on hold until after the elections to reflect the will of the voting public.
WTF? Over.
Bad deals, corruption, incompetence plus zero accountability at any level in the governance structure means CIG are always making expensive mistakes and giving away Cayman.
Vultures like the dart group and other developers that control politicians are only too happy to participate and take advantage of the third world style governments and civil service. Corruption is thriving at every level in Cayman especially when the DG projects the Chiefs that play a key role in negotiations and project management of any agreement.
Finally could this be one step too far for Dart, where even the most ardent of supporters see the light and realize the slow coup d’etat unfolding before their eyes?
If anything, Dart should be giving back all his rights to all land in Barkers, and CIG should be creating entirely public beaches and nature trails, etc with zero development and zero allowance for any commercial endeavors whatsoever.
But of course what will happen is that Dart will build a gated, exclusive country club style residence community around a golf course and a hotel you’ll never be able to afford to vist.
I give it 2 years before its marketed, 5 before ground breaks, 10 before its hosting global tournaments.
Cayman – FFS, wake up.
Its not a coup. Juilana etc Intentionally pulled out of the dump deal so they can use it as an excuse and profit individually off of the barkers deal. Cloak and dagger
Dart seems to own PPM, Joey, Roy, UPM Jon Jon, Juju and Mac Bush. Why does every government and the civil service since 2000 negotiate and sign bad deals which continue to give Cayman away to the developer mafia?
Because they want to SPEND SPEND SPEND with no plan to make money.
Dart wins these negotiations and comes out with the much, much better hand. The people lose out and I have no faith that anyone on that committee has any skill with negotiating.
Civil servants, never having had to earn money, have no understanding of commerce. The situation is made worse because none of them are using their own money, and have no accountability .
Lambs to the slaughter.
Civil servants work harder than you do and earn less than you and live harder than you do, all for you disrespect them like this in their country.
Working hard and having commercial skills and aptitude , are two Very different things.
these things happen when you are in the right and have a naturally better stance in negotiations. in dart i trust.
Guess you got a big bonus this year.
September 2020 Alden and JonJon sign the land transfer agreement
March 2021 Alden and JonJon sign the Solid Waste Agreements
Expose what the PPM signed.
Juli and JonJon back in PPM. Wagons circled.