One cringes at the negative publicity Anguilla is currently experiencing in the tourism marketplace. But it is difficult to ignore the disappointing turn of events surrounding the ownership and operations of Cap Juluca, dubbed the flagship of our industry. What aggravates the situation is the fear of an indefinite closure of the resort unless something is done speedily to halt the unfortunate slide towards that direction.
It was hoped that the auction sale of a substantial portion of the property, in May this year, would have at last brought a solution to the long and worrisome real estate ownership problem. But, as it stands today, the Government and the people ofAnguilla, including some 400 workers, are caught in the middle of a squabble among investors. It mainly involves Mr. Charles Hickox, who owns 10 or more villas on one hand, and the Brilla Group, owner of three and a half villas on the other hand. What is more is that both investors are looking to the Government for a solution. In turn, the Government is hoping that the investors would sort things out with all villas placed in the rental pool, and that the critical refurbishing and development work is undertaken as soon as possible.
The Government’s position is that it cannot force the Brilla Group to surrender their padlocked villas to the rental pool to help fetch money for the operations of the entire resort. But at the same time Government is saying that those villas cannot function separately from the rest of the project taking into account matters of linked infrastructure. Further, the Government contends that Mr. Hickox needs to have an agreed and signed MOU and until that is done the resort is being operated illegally. The Government also maintains that it requires from Mr. Hickox a financial plan and a bona-fide partner or partners with the required money to finance the refurbishing and development of the resort. Apparently, taking into account the absence of a MOU, the Government does not consider that it can be accused of refusing to meet any obligations to Mr. Hickox as he has allegedy claimed.
The Cap Juluca saga appears to be both difficult and confusing. Certainly, the urging of the workers, by the Chief Minister, to take over the resort by force is ludicrous to say the least and does not help the situation. It is not helpful either for the Minister of Labour to call on the workers at this stage to form a trade union. In a situation like this a union would be virtually powerless. Rather than appearing to be casting the burden on the shoulders of the hapless workers, the Government should seek to do its own diligent work to bring an end to the problem in whatever way it can.
This is yet another hurdle in the problem-riddled history of CapJuluca. But it can be solved at thebargaining table if all the partieswere to come together in a spirit of mutual cooperation, probably with the Government as the broker if nothing else.
