How far will OBA go to control city?

“Greed is good” 

— Gordon Gecko, Wall Street (movie)

The recent Municipalities Amendment Bill Act passed by the OBA returns much of the power previous held by the municipalities to government. This move is in direct contrast to many jurisdictions that are looking to decentralizing governments’ authority and give more control to independent bodies.  

The Municipalities Amendment Act will:-

• Restore the business vote for municipal elections

• Abolish aldermen 

• Reduce the power of the municipalities to less than that currently held by WEDCo & BHB

• Clause 13 of the Bill removes to the authority of municipalities to sell its’ lands or enter in lease agreements that are longer than 21 years.    

• Require any agreement made prior to January 1 2012 to be validated by the Legislature and Cabinet.

It is the granting of the ability for government to retroactively void agreements that could possibly allow the OBA to render the 262 year lease that the CoH has with Allied Development Partners null & void.  

Allied Development Partners (ADP) is headed up by Mike MacLean & Alex DeCouto and is the lead developer for the Waterfront Development Project which has been touted as one of Bermuda’s biggest construction projects ever. 

Along with seven other respondents to CoH’s Request for Proposal (RFP), ADP submitted a winning proposal valued at $1.7 billion and the lease of the 26 acres of the City’s waterfront was signed on December 13, 2012.  

Interestingly enough, one of the loudest critics of the ADP’s Waterfront Development Project is Sir John Swan. Sir John did not submit his proposal during the September to October 2012 deadline. 

“I did not submit...because it looked like it was being rushed through. It did not involve Government and it did not involve a process that was open to the public. I had strong reservations about the process,” Sir John Swan told the Bermuda Sun last month.

Despite opting not to submit a proposal, Sir John unveiled his three-phase plan for the Waterfront project in July of this year to the public some 9 months after the RFP deadline.  When asked back in July why he chose to take his version of the project to the people, Sir John Swan told the Sun: “To sit idly by means you have an interest, but do nothing. I have an interest in Bermuda and I have chosen to do something.”

In my next column, I will further discuss the proposed long term goals of Sir John Swan which include expanding the Corporation of Hamilton boundaries. This will most likely impose further taxes on Bermudians living in Pembroke.

Two questions in many people’s minds are: 

• How far will the OBA really go to bolster the business interests of individuals who are aligned with the OBA? 

• How far will the OBA really go to manipulate the voting numbers to ensure elections always turn out favourable for them and their associates?