Two months after Minister of Labour and National Insurance Shane Gibson confirmed that the National Insurance Board (NIB) was considering purchasing the old City Market headquarters, he revealed yesterday that the government is now looking to buy the building to be used by one of its ministries.
But he did not reveal which ministry would use the building, which is now owned by the Bahamas Supermarkets Ltd. Pension Fund.
On the floor of the House of Assembly in January, Gibson said NIB was considering buying the building on the East West Highway to use as a warehouse for the Department of Customs.
"We were still waiting on the comptroller to make a decision as to whether or not they are going to use that warehouse space," said Gibson before heading into a Cabinet meeting yesterday.
"I think the difficulty may be though, that now that they have all that warehouse space off Gladstone Road for the new port, I am not sure it would be necessary.
"That is my position, but of course I am still waiting on the comptroller to give his position because the building that was initially slated to have the customs bonded warehouse on John F. Kennedy [Drive] we're now looking at the possibility of that being used for some other purpose."
When asked which government ministry expressed interest in acquiring the building, Gibson said, "I am not sure.
"Let me put it this way, it is kind of sensitive, and so I would prefer not to discuss it now. In due course it will be announced."
He added, "We have an interest, but that really depends on what happens at the end of the day in terms of interest shown by the comptroller of customs."
Speaking in the House of Assembly in January, Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner raised concerns about NIB's planned acquisition of the building.
Butler-Turner said the government was using public funds to bail out a private company.
She suggested that the government was guilty of cronyism in relation to the matter.
The City Market grocery store chain, which was owned by the Finlayson family, closed last June.
A week after Butler-Turner raised concerns relating to the building, FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis read a letter from an NIB official -- whose name was not revealed -- that advised against the acquisition.
The letter revealed that NIB found that the Department of Customs did not need the warehouse.
Minnis also suggested that the proposed $8 million purchase price of the building might have been overvalued.
"National Insurance was advised that this was a poor investment," said Minnis, while contributing to debate on the Employees Pension Fund Protection Bill.
The Nassau Guardian obtained a copy of the document dated December 20, 2012 and titled as a memo to the director.
The letter said that if NIB bought the building, it would have to be renovated and then leased to the government under a finance lease arrangement.
The building was valued at $8 million in August 2012 by an appraiser hired by Bahamas Supermarkets Limited majority owner Mark Finlayson, the letter said.
NIB had the property appraised by two people, a government assessor and licensed architect, who valued the building at $9.9 million and $7.2 million respectively.

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