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The Nassau Tribune

Anger as developer's name appears on minister's gift card

            Dec 24 2003 WED

TOURISM minister Obie Wilchcombe was in the middle of a row last night after his Bimini constituents received Christmas turkey gifts with festive cards signed jointly by him and the controversial developer Gerardo Capo.

Critics said the cards made it seem as though the minister and Mr Capo were “in bed” together - in other words, operating in unison.

“It’s as though they are engaged in a joint enterprise,” said one Biminite. “It definitely compromises Mr Wilchcombe’s position. How can he possibly be seen to be impartial or representing the Bimini people when he and Mr Capo are handing out gifts together?”

Mr Capo, whose huge Bimini Bay Resort development has caused rage and resentment on the island, was said to have brought in hundreds of turkeys and a truckload of toys for local residents, with Mr Wilchcombe not only adding his name to the cards, but also handing out the presents at a special ceremony on Monday afternoon.

Unhappy

Even some PLP supporters are reportedly unhappy about the situation, especially as Bimini Bay has sparked controversy on both the labour and environmental fronts over the last few years.

Not only are residents furious over the devastating impact the development has had on the landscape, with huge areas of Bimini being levelled to make way for the hotel and condo scheme, they are deeply annoyed that Mexicans rather than Bahamians are being employed on the project.

One islander told The Tribune last night: “We are sickened by this because Capo is employing 50 or 60 Mexicans at Bimini Bay right now with only one or two Bahamians.

“There have been a lot of complaints about this, but he just goes ahead without being stopped.

“Things are very slow here and we need the jobs - yet the government allows Bimini Bay to get away with employing all these foreigners.”

The fact that the turkeys and Christmas cards appeared to come from both Mr Wilchcombe and Mr Capo has left many Biminites feeling bitter because they feel Mr Wilchcombe and Mr Capo are “in cahoots”.

One islander said: “A couple of Wilchcombe’s ‘generals’ were distributing these turkeys to every home and a Capo guy was driving the truck.

“One Capo guy said they had been told to make sure everything went.”

The gifts were, according to sources, shipped into Bimini under Mr Capo’s name and stored in his warehouse for distribution. Mr Wilchcombe was due to hand out the toys at a special ceremony on Monday afternoon, they claimed.

“From what we can see, all this stuff has been bought by Capo, so why is the minister, our representative, handing it out and sending Christmas cards signed by them both? A lot of people feel badly about this.

“I can see why Capo would want Christmas cards to be signed by the minister because it indicates that the government is behind him.

“It’s the sort of thing that could be used to help recruit investors.

“What I can’t understand is why Mr Wilchcombe should agree to this arrangement.

“If he can’t afford to buy the turkeys himself, why would he allow himself to be associated with turkeys bought by Bimini Bay?”

Venture

Yesterday, Mr Wilchcombe hit back at his critics, saying: “I’m not trying to take credit for something he (Mr Capo) did and mislead the people into believing that I paid for it.

“This was not a joint venture. I had my own party for my children yesterday in Bimini and the weekend before I went to Grand Bahama and had a party for my constituents there.

“This was not a joint project at all, but it doesn’t matter. It’s something Mr Capo wanted to do.

“It certainly sends the message that he is trying to reach out to the Bimini constituents. I think it was an excellent gesture on his part.

“Yes, my name is on the gift cards, but I see no difficulty with that.

“We have worked closely in the past.

“He is working to correct all the wrongs that occurred in the initial stages of the project. And he now has the full concurrence of the Bahamian government on his project.”