Furbert & Richards: Hyatt Contract Cancellation

August 21, 2015

During the recent session in the House Mark Pettingill informed MPs that former Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert “misled Bermuda over the Park Hyatt development project in St. George’s,” Sylvan Richards said, while Mr Furbert said, “if the OBA wish to argue petty battles from 3 years ago, ‎that is their call, but that pettiness will not increase jobs, reduce the cost of living, educate our children, and care for our seniors.”

Mr Richards said, “On Monday, during the Legislature’s debate on the St. George’s Resort Act, my colleague Mark Pettingill informed MPs that former PLP Government Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert misled Bermuda over the Park Hyatt development project in St. George’s.

“This serious charge was lost in the length of the 12-hour debate, and so I repeat it here today. Mr. Furbert’s deception occurred in September 2012, some three months before the December general election.

“On September 20th, Mr. Furbert, in his capacity as the PLP Government’s Minister of Business Development and Tourism, issued a ‘Notice of Termination’ to Mr. Carl Bazarian of Addax Holdings Ltd., the company that was to build the St. George’s hotel project.

Audio excerpt of Mr Pettingill speaking about the contract in the House on Monday:

“The Notice terminated Addax Holdings rights under the Master Development Agreement for the hotel project as well as its rights under the Ground Lease,” Mr Richards continued.

“The language of the termination notice was unequivocal. Mr. Bazarian was informed that there was ‘no prospect of any cure’ for Addax Holdings, which was deemed to have ‘abandoned the Project.’ As a result, the Master Development Agreement and the Ground Lease were “null and void”. The Termination, Mr. Furbert said, ‘takes effect immediately.’

“On the same day as Mr. Furbert’s notice to the developer, then Attorney General Kim Wilson sent a notice to Mr. Bazarian asking him to pass on copies of the termination notice to any Lenders.

“In a September 27th interview on ZBM Television, Mr. Furbert said the agreement between the Bermuda Government and Addax for the Park Hyatt hotel project ‘has terminated”.

“But next day, on September 28th, Mr. Furbert issued an official statement saying he had ‘misspoke when I said that Government has terminated the Park Hyatt agreement.

“What I meant to say is that the time period for the agreement has expired and that the agreement has lapsed. We are fully committed to a hotel for St. George’s. Mr. Bazarian and his team are travelling to Bermuda and we will be meeting with him next week.”

“Given what we know today from the definitive wording of Government of Bermuda documents, this ‘official statement’ by Mr. Furbert is a deliberate falsehood. Why Mr. Furbert misled the public is a question he needs to answer.

“One can speculate that after telling Bermuda on ZBM News that the much-heralded project had been terminated, someone told him that that was an unacceptable message to St. George’s and Bermuda on the eve of a general election.

“One can also speculate that the PLP Government thought it would win the 2012 election and that the Notice of Termination would never see the light of day.

“I leave it up to Mr. Furbert to address these possibilities. Whatever the answers, he needs to explain himself,” Mr Richards concluded.

In response, Shadow Economic Development Minister Wayne Furbert said, ”Let me first say that Mr. Pettingill has lost his way.

“He is trying to make something out of nothing and distract the people from his involvement in alleged Bribery.‎ Let me remind Mr. Pettingill that my statement 3 years ago is not a criminal offence but bribery is.

“It is a fact of record that the PLP terminated the agreement with Addax Holdings in 2012. If the OBA wish to argue petty battles from 3 years ago, ‎ that is their call, but that pettiness will not increase jobs, reduce the cost of living, educate our children, and care for our seniors.

“While the OBA are busy sending press releases from their surrogates to distract from their poor record of working for Bermudians, the PLP is in the community educating 100 voters about the OBA’s airport redevelopment plans. These are the same plans that an independent commentator said would result in a Canadian Company making $620 million while Bermudians are being punished with the OBA’s Austerity.

“The PLP will continue to educate the electorate on an alternative vision for the future of Bermuda, one that puts Bermudians first in their own country.‎

“It is our job to hold the Government to account and we will continue to do our job as the Bermudian people deserve a better standard of governance that they are getting from the OBA,” concluded Mr Furbert.

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Comments (56)

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  1. hmmm says:

    Just another example of the PLP trying to mislead Bermudians.

    • ReallyReallyBETTTY says:

      Come on OBA…….really 3 Years ago………….really …..Remove all the Political noise if you will…….take some time to really examine this…..

      “He is trying to make something out of nothing and distract the people from his involvement in alleged Bribery.‎ Let me remind Mr. Pettingill that my statement 3 years ago is not a criminal offence but bribery is” – Wayne Furbert

      A BRIBERY is more serious, what a poor comparison OBA…come on, get on with the business of the country, and stop playing Ping Bong….with the people……really

      • hmmm says:

        You post from PLP headquarters don’t you.

        • Garlic Clove says:

          3 YEARS yet YOU revel in brining up the former govt prior to your parties reign of DECIEVE us. Wouldn’t you just like to sweep the deceit, lies, misinformation and allegations under the table so THIS TO SHALL PASS. Well it isn’t going to pass unforgotten by time.

          • hmmm says:

            OBA haven’t been in Govt for 3 years.

            they started in January 2013 when their first session of the house began. So it’s just over 2 and a half years.

            I didn’t bring anything up…you just did. Who is deceiving…this article shows that it was your party the PLP.

            Some people eh !

      • Sara says:

        There is no proof of bribery. You may want to go to the police if you have information otherwise.

  2. What went wrong says:

    That was a great statement from the PLP.

    What the hell are the OBA doing talking about something from 3 years ago. Didn’t Dunkley say something about raising the level of debate.

    I really wish the OBA would just Grow Up!

    And while we are at it, why are we giving $620 million to Canada when we have $2 billion in debt! Sorry, $2.2 Billion!

    • SMH says:

      Sorry but calling our Furburt for blatantly lying when he was a Minister is absolutely the right thing to do here as he’s currently making some pretty big unsubstantiated allegations about Government right now.

    • Unbelievable says:

      It’s already been proven that the 620 million was not correct. Stop believing everything you read on the internet.

    • serengeti says:

      The reason this is relevant is because it shows that Mr Furbert cannot be trusted. He appears to have deliberately lied to the electorate while he was a Government Minister. He is a liar.
      Not a particularly great surprise, but there you are.

    • Navin Johnson says:

      So we don’t have to add to the $2.billion debt…..

    • hmmm says:

      That $620 million was gross revenue. that assumes there are no costs whatsoever. The PLP decided to completely ignore any costs.

      Educate yourself please. This is yet another example of the PLP deceiving you. It is either deception or they truly don’t have a clue what they are talking about.

      • What went wrong says:

        Try reading again what Larry Burchall wrote here. The $620 million is PROFIT! http://bernews.com/2015/08/opinion-burchall-airport-decision/

        Reading is fundamental, you should try it sometime.

        • hmmm says:

          Try reading again, reading is fundamental, but understanding is required…his projection shows 11m per annum Net income.

          This is based on a lower cost figure than current actual, it does not take into account the accelerating increased maintenance expense required on an annual basis at the airport either.

          Those figures are nowhere near your 620million.

    • Hurricane says:

      Ok,so let me get this right. Mr. Furbert is not denying the deception but saying it happened too long ago to be raised now. I don’t think so, Furbs; this speaks to your character.

    • True Blue says:

      Debt of 2.2 B. all thanks to the efforts of the PLP is why

    • Pastor Syl says:

      That $620 million is yet another unsubstantiated allegation that folks are pretending is fact

  3. Lois Frederick says:

    What is does do is remind the electorate that furbert speaks out of both sides of his mouth and can’t be trusted with the truth. I heard it all debated in the House and it was an interesting recollection of previous failed efforts to develop the Club Med site by the plp. Not imagining that they would lose the election, the plp thought the truth would never be revealed. They were wrong.

    • Unbelievable says:

      This is the thing. Despite it being a messy affair, the OBA are getting things done. Morgan’s Point is going ahead, St. George’s hotel is looking good, casino legislation, etc.

      The PLP never even came close to anything like this. EVER. What makes ANYONE even think that they can deliver this kind of result if they returned to power?

      • hmmm says:

        That’s not fair they can build things that cost twice as much as originally priced , they can build things that need repairing as they weren’t done right and they can build things with a mysterious trust attached with the beneficiaries kept secret.

  4. Cow Polly says:

    How many times can you continue to educate the same 100 people on the OBA’s redevelopment plans? Even these numbers are dropping, it used to be 120 LOL!

  5. SMH says:

    So based on Furbert’s utterly defensive and deflective response to this, yes he lied, yes he misled the people of Bermuda. Yes or No, Mr. Furbert is what they are saying true?

  6. watching says:

    So Pettingill and Richards are going back into something 3 years ago that Furbert already dealt with?
    What type of craziness is really going on? Richards never says anything of merit in the House yet can sign his name to something so ridiculous as this.
    Dunkley needs to grab a hold of his Party and sort them out before the whole of Bermuda is convinced they are losing it.

    • SMH says:

      Nice deflection. Wayne F and his peeps just got their clock cleaned…and hard. Ouch

    • hmmm says:

      The PLP tried to mislead us before a general election. We had to deceive you seems to be accepted by the PLP as normal as it is happening regularly.

      • Unbelievable says:

        Remember Paula Cox saying we had turned a corner during the recession? Another falsehood.

    • Pastor Syl says:

      But Furbert didn’t actually deal with it. He didn’t even say “we had to mislead you”

  7. Yahoo says:

    Look at you Flip Flop, staying in the news. Good for you bie!

  8. Bullseye says:

    “Let me remind Mr. Pettingill that my statement 3 years ago is not a criminal offence but bribery is.”

    Mr. Furbert you are guilty of deliberately lying to the electorate. That is laid out here in fact. The bribery issue is still a baseless allegation. It is too bad that you believe lying to the voters is petty.

    • Toleratate says:

      He’s a politician; it’s expected. Especially from whole who will play both sides.

      • Toleratate says:

        correction, “the ones who play both sides”.You see; it becomes hard keeping up with stories that you tell.

  9. Buzby says:

    Tedium itself.

  10. unus sed leo says:

    Lastly …if you really want money… govt……..I formally advise you turn tcd upside down in the commercial vehicle requirement dept…and admin.

  11. Unbelievable says:

    How anyone even believes anything that comes out of Wayne Furbert’s mouth is ridiculous.

    • RIGHT says:

      I was thinking that about Pettingill actually!

      • Balanced Facts says:

        At least he actually produces evidence in support not gossip!

  12. clearasmud says:

    is this what we pay Sylvan Richards for? Surely we deserve better!

    • SMH says:

      Sorry but his salary should be doubled for bringing this to the attention of Bermudians.

  13. James says:

    There above comment by Richards is relevant for context: St. George’s would not be in the state it is in today were it not for woeful neglect and deceit by the PLP—and, to a large extent, being taken advantage of by unscrupulous politicians like Wayne Furbert. The public should be reminded of what was a blatant lie by the now-Opposition.

    As a side note, MP Furbert should really quit it with the Arbitrary capitalizations in his press Releases. No One at PLP HQ proofs this stuff?

  14. jt says:

    It paints a picture, but everyone has that print already.

  15. Unbelievable says:

    Everyone sounds drunk up until 2:30 mins on that recording.

  16. Coffee says:

    I could remember something the OBA said three years ago which mislead the people ….. A vote for us is a vote for jobs . Well we all know how that turned out .

  17. just wondering says:

    how strange that people think that someone caught in a lie three years ago isn’t relevant – if he was found out today having stolen money three years ago surely that would be something that needed to be dealt with – I am NOT talking about criminal offences but both lying and theft are matters of moral turpitude and he ought to explain himself

  18. Unbelievable says:

    Oh and you know how allegedly the OBA is still the old UBP and we keep hearing that too?………well….I think talking about Wayne Furbert’s “misspeaking” is allowed.

  19. ye Ol Double Standard says:

    Gotta love it.

  20. Coffee says:

    Three years ago the OBA said if elected they would promise to hold a referendum on gaming . Did the people who voted for them get mislead ? Or a they fools ? Because a promise is comfort to fools . @OBA DIEHARDS , were you mislead or are you indeed fools ?

    • Zevon says:

      And the PLp promised free public transport. Never happened.

      Why’s that? Were you just fools? Idiots? Easily led dumbos? What happened?

    • Build a Better Bermuda says:

      Actually, they listened to the people, the majority of whom said, just get on with it. So they opted to not waste tax dollars and get on with it.

  21. Dangel says:

    I am baffled by some of the comments above. After reading the article, my first thought was – why is Sylvan Richards the MP responsible for the Bernews article? I am amazed. If the portion of the debate was news worthy I would of expected either MP Pettingill or maybe MP Crockwell (Tourism portfolio) but not MP S Richards.

  22. Ed Case says:

    Flip Flop deliberately lied? Why is anyone surprised really? We knew all along he could not be trusted. He crossed to floor for crissakes! Lies lies and more lies from the Pathetic Lying Party.

  23. Balanced Facts says:

    The difference is Pettingill is the subject of hearsay allegations without a single piece of real evidence! He just demonstrated with actual proof that Furbert deliberately told a falsehood to the public knowing full well he had terminated the deal. YOu should call for a Commission back to 98 Wayne and see what real evidence is!!!