Does The Montserrat Development Corporation Have A Future In Its Current Format?

Throughout the recently concluded election campaign it was rumoured in many quarters, and indeed by several candidates that should PDM win the election, the future of the Montserrat Development Corporation (MDC) as it is currently constituted would be short. That saying, one of the first actions of the PDM administration would be to review the effectiveness of the MDC and consider the future of the organisation should they be successful.

PDM is in now power. What is the future of the MDC?

The MDC is shrouded with many unanswered questions that were posed to the CEO during the summer to do with procurement issues, and investigations into expense claims by DfID - investigations that are still open and not dismissed, as the CEO of the MDC seemed to have wanted to indicate to close off any further questions. There were two complaints filed; one that was withdrawn, and the other by a lady who goes by the surname of Reid. That latter complaint is still open and active.

A Dfid London spokesperson responded to the second complaint stating the following via return email; "Please be assured that DFID take all allegations seriously and are grateful to you for coming to us and raising these issues. Your complaint will now be handled by my team who are the central point of contact in DFID for all referrals and complaints. We will consider your concerns in line with our standard operating procedures."

The MDC under the current CEO seemingly certainly paints a dark picture of mistrust and total disconnection with the public. The image presented from within the organisation is not one that is advertised repeatedly on ZJB every morning. Located in plush offices, what does the MDC actually deliver to the future of Montserrat?

The MDC is mandated to deliver investment and infrastructure to help Montserrat achieve self-sustainability. Let us consider just how effective they have been so far.

There is a master plan, portraying a new town with multi-million dollar apartments and retail units. Similar million dollar villas are designated for Potato Hill. Still similar million dollar condos are planned for Bonito Hill. Just how many millionaires are there in Montserrat?

So the town is not designed for Montserratians or Montserratian investors. That is fine, as the new port and hotel added into the mix will attract million-dollar investment from international sources.

Looking around, where are the investors? Maybe time to change the fantasy plans into more realistic designs?

Since CEO Ivan Browne took the reins in July 2013, he has talked repeatedly of investors flooding into Montserrat. Thousands of dollars have so far been spent on trips to Dubai, Miami and China. Fourteen months later we have approximately 0 investors.

In reality, we have four empty ‘award winning’ beach bars sitting precariously on a seafront location, which have no sea protection should a hurricane hit. A professional engineer with whom we spoke with, informed this media house that he is extremely concerned that the current structures are in danger and evidence of erosion is already apparent to the temporary sea wall, and that it is only a matter of time before some remedial work is required.

There is now a Sports Centre Complex that does not have the capacity to be beneficial for large events (400 persons) and it looks unlikely to be completed in time for the LIBA Tournament in December. It also has only recently been granted funding months after construction started. The MDC using DfID money to fund a Government of Montserrat project, what does DfID think of this?

During a fact checking mission MNI Alive Media uncovered that the full funding for the Sports Centre was not allocated. The indication we received was that the MDC and previous Meade government officials knew that the centre would have cost no less than $4M to build. However $1.8 million was allocated up from the original $1.6million that was put to the project. Both the MDC CEO and the Ministry responsible at the time were contacted for clarification with the following questions posed to both; "Who will manage the facility? Where is the shortfall coming from in funding? What will happen if there is a change in Government?"

When CEO Browne was repeatedly asked during the summer about the funding issues to do with the Sports Complex, he responded: "I directed you to the Sports Ministry as our MOU with that body clearly states that they will be responsible for providing the necessary funding to build out the various phases of the project. We are project managing the construction aspects of the project and at this stage we are concentrating on phase one of the project which is the construction of the multi purpose court."

Then we have Pipers Pond. Filled in and levelled to house buildings for the new town centre. The millionaire Dubai based investors have miraculously disappeared since the election. Or have they? Did they ever really have an interest? Surely an investor, if seeing an investment opportunity, would not be deterred so easily.

No sign of the new volcano interpretation centre or of the much-vaulted festival court complex in time for the 2014 season.

Tourism developments were to be kickstarted under MDC since the Tourism operations were moved under their control. The facility at Jack Boy Hill remains in a poor state of repair, and surely the motor racing in Cork Hill is going to negatively impact the tours to Plymouth planned for November unless some strict regulations are put in place.

All MDC appears to have achieved under CEO Browne's leadership is failure to complete projects, dismissive comments to the media and the public, spending monies it does not have and alienate persons from the cause of the MDC which is to redevelop Montserrat. Whilst also attracting far too much unnecessary attention from DfID who are investigating expenses claims with an audit.

Just how many local businesses have benefitted from MDC input at all? Can the CEO provide this information to the media and the public or will he respond with yet another dismissive retort.

A simple update was requested recently from the Director of Trade and Investment relating to the progress of the recent trip to China by CEO Browne and Chairman Ryan. We also requested clarification on the award to be won for Marine Village for which the CEO and Chairman travelled to LA to collect at a cost of over EC$1,000 each for tickets to the award dinner alone.

The Director answered stating a full update would be provided from the CEO on his return.

Have the persons of Montserrat received an update to date? Why is the Director of Investment in the dark on these matters, why is the Director of Investment not involved in such investment trips also?

CEO Browne and Chairman Ryan, flying around the world, with partners, but yet unable to provide sufficient updates on investment trips. Why did the MDC cancel at the last minute an interview with locally based media recently, when the media team showed up for an update on projects? Where is the accountability from the MDC under CEO Browne? Is this the organisation we want delivering Montserrat?

After 14 months, CEO Browne has failed to deliver. He lives in Montserrat - rent allegedly paid by DfID. Browne earns more in one month than many hard working Montserratians earn in a year, but he seemingly has an issue with accountability to the public on the MDC's activities.

No investment agreed, no serious investors interested, bungled projects, how much more can CEO Browne fail to deliver before he ruins the MDC and Montserrat?

Premier Romeo, you talked of making that impact immediately. Staring you directly in the face is the MDC. The name means nothing but ridicule at the moment and it is certain that no amount of PR will change people's minds on that point.

The MDC needs a revamp and a restructuring. Former Premier Meade allowed them to run riot. Now he is gone, close the gap and the disconnect with the public at the MDC, and stop the rot now. Let the MDC truly be the Montserrat Development Corporation.

Jeevan Robinson is Editor-in-Chief of MNI Alive Media, a global Marketing, News & Information Media (MNI) outlet. He can be reached at jeevan@mnialive.com