Bahamas Society of Engineers (BSE) Director DaCosta Bethel said yesterday that fears over expanding Chinese investment in Downtown Nassau are "not irrational at all" as the country seeks further public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Engineers Conference 2014, Bethel said that "balance" is needed following China State Construction Engineering Corporation's (CSCEC) purchase of the British Colonial Hilton last week.
"I think it's important that those concerns are expressed, because they then force government and senior civil servants to bring some balance and to take those concerns of the local businesses into consideration. I don't think that [those concerns] are irrational at all," Bethel said.
David Pratt, vice president of infrastructure in Ontario's civil infrastructure division, said that the government needs to strike an appropriate balance between foreign investment and the interests of local firms.
"We're in a global economy now. It's really up to us to structure these deals so that the local companies are included, so that [foreign firms] aren't allowed to come in and take over 100 percent. You don't want to scare aware foreign investors and foreign expertise, but you have to find the right balance," he said.
Pratt added that foreign companies that had similarly attempted to operate in Canada without substantial local involvement had faced "extreme difficulties" from local building and labor codes.
Guardian Business understands that CSCEC will likely be involved in the development of Downtown Nassau and will likely use the Hilton as its foundation.
CSCEC subsidiary, China Construction America (CCA), is the Chinese state-owned company constructing Baha Mar, which will build a new luxury hotel and condo development and other amenities on the six-acre plot of land adjacent to the Hilton.
The government announced last week that it had retained the services of local architect Michael Foster in establishing guidelines and a framework for the redevelopment of Downtown Nassau.
Foster had previously consulted with EDAW when the company conducted its original assessment of the potential redevelopment and implied that any new plans for Downtown Nassau were still in their preliminary stages.
Despite the speculation surrounding CSCEC's purchase of the Hilton and potential interest in a redevelopment project, Foster claimed that he did not know "what's going on with the Chinese".
Instead, Foster suggested that the identity of the owners was less important than the development's benefit to the country.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- No one wants to hear that they have breast cancer, and for those who do, having a supportive network of family and friends plays a key role in how they respond to treatment. Culinary students and faculty at The College of The Bahamas Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute (CHMI) recently demonstrated their support of cancer survivors by hosting some of them to an evening of fine dining at Choices Restaurant.
The guests of honour were employees of The College and members of the Sister Sister Breast Cancer Support Group.
Culinary students at The College came up with the idea as a way to show the members of the College community that they are appreciated and valued. They also wanted to help raise awareness about the prevalence of breast cancer in The Bahamas.
"This is a way of us showing the cancer survivors at The College that they are important to us. We support the efforts of the Cancer Society and we certainly support [these survivors] being with us at The College," Acting Executive Director of the Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute Dr. Sophia Rolle explained.
"Women are very strong and when they are afflicted with these kind of illnesses we ought to support them because women are the breadwinners in a lot of instances. They do a lot for us that we don't even think about every day and we are very happy to be able to do this for the survivors who are at The College of The Bahamas," she added.

It is with great sadness that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has learned of the death of Sir Tennant Edward (Tay) Wilson KNZM, OBE, aged 89.

Sir Tay joined the IOC in 1988 and served on the New Sources of Financing Commission (1989-1993) and Finance Commission (1994-2006). He became an IOC honorary member in 2006.

“Sir Tay was a man full of passion for sport. He believed strongly in the integrity of sport, and spent most of his life working to protect it,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “The entire Olympic Movement will miss him. We express our deepest sympathies to the family of Tay Wilson and the Olympic community in New Zealand.”

During his long career in the Olympic Movement, he held numerous positions: Chef de Mission at the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow in 1980, Deputy Chef de Mission at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles in 1984, Secretary General of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, member of the Association of National Olympic Committees Executive Commission (1989-1993; 1996-2000), Chairman of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) Finance Commission (1985-1993), and ONOC Secretary General (1989-1993). He was also President of the New Zealand Pierre de Coubertin Committee, President of the Pierre de Coubertin Institute, and Life Member of the Special Olympics of New Zealand Foundation.

His work with the Olympic Movement was the crowning achievement of a life-long passion for sport. A rowing champion in his early years, he became New Zealand double sculls junior champion in 1959. Besides rowing, he was also fond of many other sports, such as swimming, hockey, golf and badminton.

The IOC expresses its deepest sympathies to Sir Tay’s family.

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, helping athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team: Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.

Now I'm quite sure, that when a whole lot of people initially read the title of this particular article "Unchain the Elephant" they will be quite puzzled. Well the title "Unchain the Elephant" is actually the title of a great inspirational book written by Erik Wahl. So, what's it all about D. Paul, could you please elaborate? I'd be delighted to for there's a great lesson for all of us to learn from this book, which incidentally has the following sub-title "Reframe Your Thinking to Unleash Your Potential."
In the opening pages of the book, the author Erik Wahl tells of his trip to Nairobi, Kenya where he went out into the Masai Mara and saw firsthand all of the wild animals roaming freely. He outlined in great detail his first encounter with a wild elephant and what an awesome sight this powerhouse of an animal really was. And then he began to reflect on the elephants he had seen in captivity in zoos and circuses that were just a mere shadow of what the magnificent wild elephants in Kenya were.
He learnt, that when a baby elephant is born in captivity, it is chained to a tree or post, each day for long periods with very strong metal chains, which it inevitably tries to break away from, but eventually gives in to the fact, that it can't, it's not strong enough. As the elephant grows up having been conditioned not to be able to escape in its youth, it can just be tied to a tree or post with a rope and it will not try to break away because of its early mental conditioning.
Erik Wahl then goes on to state, quite correctly I might add, that so many human beings have indeed been likewise mentally programmed and thus find it very difficult to break their mental chains and thus succeed.
Yes my friend, if you want to succeed in life, you have to unchain the elephant, you have to as Bob Marley so eloquently puts it "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery." That's right, so many people around the globe are being held back from achieving greatness, not by others, but by the negative program that is stored in their sub-conscious mind.
You my friend are a child of God, magnificently made in his image and bursting with God-given special and unique talents. This is who you are! So, if you were told otherwise, you have to break the chains and thus go on to greatness, to be all that you were created to be, which is an outstanding winner!

o Think about it!
Visit my website at: www.dpaulreilly.com.
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