The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Canada’s leading Caribbean diplomat is planning to discuss the controversial Oceania Heights development with Prime Minister Perry Christie this month, Tribune Business was told yesterday, with homeowners “astonished” by the project developers’ reasons for rejecting a face-to-face meeting.

Chris Fleming, who is among those leading the opposition to Oceania Heights’s developers, Canadian citizen Howard Obront and Bahamian attorney, Anthony Thompson, said Canadian homeowners at the project were set to “brief” Robert Ready, the new High Commissioner to Jamaica, on the dispute this Friday.

And a Bahamian Cabinet Minister is aiming to succeed where the Exuma Chamber of Commerce, at least so far, has failed. Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business he was trying to call the two warring Oceania Heights factions to a meeting as early as next week.

Describing the ‘back and forth’ allegations between the two sides as verging on “the ridiculous”, Mr Rolle said he wanted the dispute “sorted out once and for all”.

This indicates the Government is becoming increasingly concerned at the potential harm the vocal, public Oceania Heights dispute may inflict on the Bahamas’ reputation as an attractive destination for foreign investment and second homeowners.

And, in what appears to be another attempt to raise the pressure on Messrs Obront and Thompson, plus possibly the Bahamian government, the Oceania Heights homeowners have continued lobbying their home country authorities on the matter.

Mr Fleming told Tribune Business: “The Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Robert Ready, is presenting his credentials to the Bahamas this month, and he is bringing this matter to the Prime Minister’s attention.

“Fifty per cent of the owners here are Canadian, and they are holding a conference call with Mr Ready on Friday. He is going to be totally briefed, and totally ready to discuss this matter with the Prime Minister.”

Mr Fleming said the credentials presentation, and likely Oceania Heights discussion with the Prime Minister, was set to occur “within the next couple of weeks”.

Canada, as exclusively revealed by Tribune Business, has already issued an investment advisory against the Bahamas as a result of the Oceania Heights situation. It implied that real estate disputes in the Bahamas were a common occurrence, and that they would be “prolonged and costly to resolve”.

The Christie administration appears not to be waiting for Mr Ready’s arrival, though. Mr Rolle told Tribune Business yesterday: “I’ve requested a meeting with all the parties involved. In fact, I want that meeting held next week, so we can sort it out once and for all.

“It’s getting to the point of ridiculous, and with all the back and forth I don’t see any progress being made as a result.”

Mr Fleming yesterday said he was contacted at home by Mr Rolle on the same day that Tribune Business revealed the Canadian warning. “He [Mr Rolle] very much wants to see me,” Mr Fleming added.

“He was very upset when I spoke to him, because he feels Exuma is getting a black eye.”

The Minister of State for Investments is not the only one who feels that way. Pedro Rolle, president of the Exuma Chamber of Commerce, which had been trying to bring homeowners and developers together, said “the longer it goes on”, the greater will be any potential negative impact for both the island and the wider Bahamas.

Acknowledging that it could impact investor perceptions of the Bahamian legal system, and how business is conducted in this nation, Mr Rolle told Tribune Business: “If we can resolve this in an amicable manner, and in a way that both parties are happy, it can only be positive for Exuma.”

While it was difficult to determine whether Oceania Heights had negatively impacted Exuma’s real estate market and economy, Mr Rolle said: “There’s one thing I do know; it hasn’t helped.

“It’s not a positive thing, and one can only assume that in the midst of the downturn of the economy, it’s been tough for everybody without this. This has made it a bit tougher to sell.”

Meanwhile, Mr Fleming said he was amazed at Mr Thompson’s reasons for not attending today’s meeting with the homeowners, which the Exuma Chamber of Commerce has been trying to facilitate.

Arguing that the Chamber was not a recognised arbitrator, Mr Thompson described the meeting as “frivolous” and “an abuse of process”. He argued that the meeting would potentially breach a covenant in Oceania Heights’ agreements with the homeowners, which required any disputes be referred to arbitration.

Mr Fleming, though, described this statement as “astonishing”. He said it was the developers, not the homeowners, who had pushed for the meeting under the Chamber’s auspices and, now that the latter had agreed to it, they were backing away.

“I find it astonishing,” Mr Fleming told Tribune Business. “They were the ones that wanted to hold the meeting, and now we said yes, they’re saying it’s an abuse of process. They wanted it, we agreed to it, and they’re now saying this. It’s astonishing, but we predicted this. They’re not sincere at all.”

Given that the meeting was never set up as an official arbitration, Mr Fleming questioned how it could threaten to breach the covenants between Oceania Heights and the homeowners.

“It’s an absolute excuse,” he told Tribune Business. “There was never discussion of an arbitration. It was just to have an open, adult conversation about what the issues were. Mr Obront says they’ve done nothing wrong. If they’ve done nothing wrong, what’s the issue?”

The main complaints of Oceania Heights homeowners are that they have been unable to obtain title/conveyancing documents to the properties they have bought; there are questions whether more than $880,000 in Stamp Tax they paid has been passed on to the Treasury; Mr Thompson failed to disclose he was also a beneficial owner of Oceania Heights when acting for the buyers in their purchases; the same lots have been sold to different buyers; and the hotel and other promised amenities have not been constructed.

Messrs Obront and Thompson, though, have vehemently denied all the allegations against them.