Dawn RitchThe Whitehouse scandal is all-consuming. It has destroyed the reputation of Dr. Vin Lawrence and threatens that of the great and the good. They are the stars of the genetically-connected, an all-time roll-call of cronyism involved in private profit and environmental degradation.
At public issue now, is the cost overrun of US$41 million. Forensic auditors have already been installed at the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) which was the project manager. Dr. Lawrence's long hoped-for departure has, therefore, arrived. He was the éminence grise behind what has long passed for so-called development in this country.
NEVER TO HAVE BEEN BUILT
This column is on record saying that the proposed Whitehouse development on the south coast ought never to have been built at all. The site of the hotel was formerly all wetland, muddy beaches, and prime crocodile habitat. Jamaican crocodiles are peculiar. They are equally at home in salt or fresh water. So when you take away their habitat, they move into the sea. Even if you take them 200 miles away, they still find a way of returning to the spot from whence they came.
The functions of wetlands are many and varied. They act as a sponge to collect water run-off and prevent soil erosion. They purify the water going into our underground reserves, and are prime breeding grounds for fish, crab, shrimp and birds, as well as crocodiles.
The property should, therefore, never have been sold by the UDC to Gordon 'Butch' Stewart for the purpose of building a hotel.
The National Plan and Atlas for the entire island, done under Edward Seaga when he was Minister of Finance and Planning in the JLP administration of the 1960-70s, was published just before the 1972 General Election. Conducted through the local Town Planning Department with the assistance of a British development agency, the document, with full-colour atlas, recommended areas in Jamaica to be zoned for development. It identified those areas suitable for certain agricultural crops, those for other types of economic activity, and where houses should be built. It also recommended the areas that should be preserved as wetlands for the protection of the Jamaican environment. It disappeared after Michael Manley came to power in 1972. Does anyone in Government even know where a copy exists?
The Whitehouse hotel is built in the middle of a wetland. So if somebody complains about the rooms flooding, it's probably just nature reclaiming its own.
COST OF CONSTRUCTION
The cost of construction in a swamp is three times conventional construction on firm ground. Just the marl alone to dump up the site must have been a fortune. The walls of this mirage will be in perennial danger of cracking as the structure settles.
It is ludicrous, therefore, for anyone to expect, or claim 'value for money' at Whitehouse. Nobody can get 'value for money' out of a swamp. The hotel ought never to have been built there in the first place.
As we Jamaicans say, 'What gone bad ah mawning caan come good ah evening'. The three owners of Whitehouse are the UDC, the National Investment Bank of Jamaica, and Gorstew Ltd., which is owned by Gordon 'Butch' Stewart. The first and last were also the developers of the project, and gave themselves and their cronies lucrative contracts during its construction, without let or hindrance, according to the recent Contractor General's report.
The change in concept from Beaches to Sandals was even more grist for their mill. The report notes additional work that included the following:
A dive pool and special water sports facilities with their own jetty;
Three zero-entry pools with the central pool being one of the largest in the island (each pool would carry its own support Jacuzzi and swim-up bar);
An over-sized Jacuzzi and sun deck;
A stand-alone spa complex and spa Jacuzzi;
Separate facilities for a gym and aerobics room;
Two squash courts;
A fully-enclosed entertainment complex with its own bar, a purpose-built stage with state-of-the-art sound and light installations and an extensive backstage change room facility, which was to be promoted as a European-style theatre;
Ballroom, wedding room and conference room with state-of-the-art audio-visual facilities;
Four specialty restaurants;
Extensive staff accommodations on the property;
Extensive external infrastructure to support the hotel's isolated location with built-in redundancy for all services;
The most modern and conveniently laid out 'back of house facility';
A reconstructed beach area for a single hotel.
"To ensure the integrity of the Sandals trademark, all of the above facilities and interior design work were undertaken by Newton (the joint venture between the three owners) and members of the Gorstew Ltd./Sandals group."
This work in the ground, which is almost like the building of another hotel, does not include the cost of finishes. On this subject, the report notes, that along with marble tiles, "Copper gutters were used throughout the property, despite the availability of far less costly products." Copper is a semi-precious metal that does not rust, an important consideration I suppose, when building in saline conditions.
COSTLY AND RECKLESS
The project was costly and reckless from the start. So it doesn't really matter how beautiful it looks today, nor how sumptuous the facilities and materials. The owners all went into it with their eyes wide open.
One good thing, however, has come out of the change of concept from Beaches (which is for families) to Sandals (which is for couples only). It is inevitable that a crocodile is going to come swimming in one day, or crawl across the property. Some tourist is certain to be attacked and eaten. I'm glad it won't be a little child.
There is no joy in Whitehouse, not even though it has finally resulted in the welcome resignation of Vin Lawrence from all state boards. Regardless of what any of the protagonists say, Jamaica is not done paying for it yet.
ANOTHER DISASTER
Another disaster is in process at Harmony Cove on the north coast. The Government is going ahead with another upscale resort that will also degrade the environment. To my horror, some time ago, I learned from Kingsley Thomas (the former head of the Development Bank of Jamaica which conceived the project), that in order to have a luxury yacht marina, the developers will have to cut through the coral reef, so that the vessels can enter the marina, which itself will be carved out of a currently-enclosed inland swamp. This is a development that should not happen. Not in that location anyway.
Already displaced crocodiles from Harmony Cove have turned up in another hotel's sewerage line. We can't keep dumping up their habitat, and expect them to rent a townhouse somewhere. Up and down the north and south coasts of Jamaica, therefore, hotels and communities are going to start having problems with crocodiles swimming in the sea.
Mr. Thomas has now departed the scene, and so at long last has Dr. Lawrence. But Jamaica will be haunted by their bad decisions for generations to come.
