REMARKS

BAHAMAS REAL ESTATES ASSOCIATION

CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON

DECEMBER, 6, 2007

It is indeed a great pleasure to participate today at your Annual Christmas Luncheon albeit that I do so in the current capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs rather than as a Fellow Broker.

As all of you are aware, the current Ingraham Administration took office after the May 2^nd General Elections some seven months ago.

In the ensuring months, there has been numerous articles in the national press and stories in the national media about what the current Administration has done/not done undertaken/failed to undertake and so forth.

This afternoon, I wish to touch on a few issues and hopefully provide some insight into the articles or stories which have appeared in the national media.

The first issue, I wish to address is the abolition of the Ministry of Financial Services and Investments.

The former Ministry of Financial Services and Investments was located in the Goodman’s Bay Corporate Centre and had approximately sixty employees.

The former employees of the Ministry have, on the whole, been dispersed throughout the Civil Service and its operations transferred to the Office of the Prime Minister under the leadership of the Director of Investments, Mr. David Davis.

I am fortunate to occupy the offices vacated by the former Ministry.

When I toured the Ministry of Financial Services offices before their relocation, I was surprised at the number of files on each desk awaiting attention in the first instant by writing a receipt for the application fee, thereby holding up the process.

I am advised that the Office of The Prime Minister was contacted by the Post Office to advise that there were several boxes of uncollected mail for the Ministry at the Post Office.

The first step towards streamlining this process was to transfer the responsibility for approving the various applications to the Office of The Prime Minister and the establishment of the post of Director of Investments.

After a few meetings of the Investments Board, a Board on which I am a member, it was decided that the Chairman of the Investment Board - The Prime Minister – would be granted authority, subject to the normal due diligence of the Secretariat, to approve those applicants for permits in respect of land acquisitions being part of an "Approved Subdivision".

These applications are referred to internally as "the short agenda" and are circulated to Members of the Board on a regular basis without the necessity of an actual meeting.

The recent "non meeting" in November under the short agenda contained some Thirty Seven agenda items for areas such as Winding Bay, Bimini Bay, Emerald Bay, the Residences at Atlantis, Cat Cay, Treasure Cay and so forth.

The total Dollar value approved by the short agenda at the meeting was $40.5 million with $25.3 million being in respect of land sales in New Providence.

Those Investments Board applications which were not considered on the short agenda are circulated to members of the Investments Board and a meeting relating to the same would be held.

To date there have been twelve such meetings on the new Board.

The latest meeting had sixty four agenda items for a total Dollar value of $96.25 million, With $2.5 million being in respect of New Providence.

It should be noted that there were a few agenda items which dealt with validating conveyances which had been previously executed which there would not be a Dollar value assigned to the application.

We feel, and you will have to advise me, if the feeling is correct, that the Government has made a dramatic impact not only on the back log but also on the real time of the application process.

So much so that recently a client of a law firm called the Prime Minister to complain that the Board was taking too long on a certain application. Upon investigation, it appeared that the Board had approved the application and it was sitting on his lawyer’s desk.

However the Government was still not happy with the process.

I am not aware if many of you noticed the Official Gazette of October 2^nd 2007.

In short, effective January 1^st 2008 new forms and supporting documentation for a Certificate of Registration and an Application for a Permit under the International Persons Landholding Act will come into effect.

In both instances properties valued under $10,000.00 will not require due diligence.

The major change will be in the fees charged. A fee of $250.00 will be payable for a Certificate of Registration and $500.00 for a Permit upon approval of the application. The application fee will be abolished.

By so doing, we hope to dramatically impact the time frame from the date of application to the date of consideration by removing the application fee from the front end and redefining the documents required on application.

You should also be aware that there will be a tighter link between the application and the Real Property Tax Department to ensure (a) payment of real property taxes and (b) proper valuations on the Conveyances themselves and the Real Property Tax files.

In addition to the Investment Board, various proposals are referred to the National Economic Council – a Board on which I also am a member.

In November, we held our eleventh meeting with some eleven agenda items on that Agenda which covered projects in Grand Bahama, Abaco, Exuma and New Providence involving some 5,400 acres of land.

In recent months in the local media there has been considerable coverage of the Albany and Baha Mar projects.

At the present, the first phase of Albany which is the subdivision has been approved; the marina basin has been approved as well as the civil design for the roads. I am advised that these applications comprise all applications presently outstanding at the Ministry of Works for the Albany project.

Likewise with New South Ocean, I am advised that there are no applications presently outstanding at the Ministry of Works. Similarly with Baha-Mar, the Ministry of Works are reviewing the civil designs for the new roads, and that is the only application before the Ministry of Works.

However, there are other projects in the pipeline.

For instance, Atlantis will soon start its next phase with the redevelopment of the area around Hurricane Hole Marina into a revamped marina, town houses, restaurants and other facilities to the tune of several hundred of million dollars.

Likewise there still appears to be a demand for upscale luxury real estate.

The Source Development Group has been given approval to develop a $200 million residential development on a ten acre site east of the Caves.

The development in its first phase will include twenty eight, three or four bedroom units ranging in size from 3,690 to 4,320 square feet.

I am advised that there are a number of Bahamian firms involved in marketing, engineering, interior design, quantity surveyors, architects and so forth.

In late November 2007, a town meeting was held in Stella Maris, Long Island, to discuss a proposed development in the area surrounding Stella Maris airport which will include a 188 Unit Condo Hotel and Spa, a Golf Course, Marina, and other touristic amenities.

This proposed multi million dollar mixed use project in Long Island could result in a peak employment of some eight hundred and Seventy five workers between the construction and operation of the project.

I am happy to advise that the external reserves and liquidity figures for 2007 to date are as good as or better than 2006, External reserves as at November 14 2007, stood at $452.8 million as compared to $450.6 million in 2006. Liquidity on the other hand stood at $240 million for the same period in 2007 as opposed to $164.8 million in 2006.

In view of the projected developments and the continued growth of traditional areas, the Government will be revising the Town Planning Act, the Private Roads and Subdivision Act, the Conversation and Protection of Physical Landscape Act and other such regulatory procedures.

The Ministry of Works is currently circulating a Contractor’s Bill to regulate and license building contractors.

The Government has also undertaken an initial review of the BEST Commission and has agreed to appoint a new Ambassador of the Environment and seven (7) officers with responsibility for various Family Island projects

The new Ambassador will be charged with the responsibility of revamping the BEST commission to ensure that it operates effectively in today’s environment.

With the various projects the Government intends to