CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – NEVISIANS anxious for news on the future of Four Seasons’ Resort will be paying keen attention to Premier Joseph Parry’s visit to Miami where he will have discussions with the resort’s receivers, Wachovia Bank.
Premier Parry announced on Tuesday (Apr. 21) that he would be leading a delegation to Miami today for the discussions with the aim of having the Four Seasons’ reopened quickly.
The Premier was at the time speaking at the opening ceremony of a one-day Crisis Communication workshop hosted by the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) and the United States-based Dilenschneider Group at Occasions in Pinneys.
He said the Miami visit is part of the NIA’s crisis management efforts, of which communication is a main ingredient.
“We want to be part of what is going on. We want to be a part of making things happen and making it happen soon.”
The resort was forced to lay off over 600 workers in March after failing to recover from damages caused by Hurricane Omar in October, and the Premier revealed earlier this month that the receivers are proceeding with the foreclosure which is anticipated to be completed by August.
Parry said then that the NIA is not actively involved in the process of finding a buyer, but from a government point of view the resort needs to be reopened as soon as possible for a number of reasons.
“It is the flag ship hotel of the country and the region. It gives hope and optimism, it will create employment for some 600 persons again, it brings revenue to the treasury and it will take the economy to a higher level of equilibrium than it is at the moment.”
On Tuesday, Premier Parry said it was communication that averted a crisis on Nevis following the lay-offs. He said there were some who believed that the government should not have spoken out on the matter, and that honor should have been left to management of the resort.
“But if you have 600 persons in a small economy such as Nevis’ being laid off, someone in government should demonstrate leadership, to speak to the people and tell them the truth…to tell them to be prepared for what could happen to them. I take full responsibility for that.”
According to the Premier, as a result of the move by the NIA, a recent study by the Caribbean Development Bank on Poverty Alleviation showed that the impact of Four Seasons’ closure was felt more on St. Kitts than on Nevis.
“This must be a credit to the Nevis government because people were prepared; people were able to save and to seek alternative jobs in a very short time. And this is what it is all about in terms of management of a crisis – communication to make sure that things go right. A good job was done and Nevis was saved from a worst disaster.”
