Ray Roberts, the Labour movement representative in the Senate, on Wednesday was made to apologise after he was proven wrong when he claimed that the construction of a fence around a pending tourism project was paid for by Government.
While making his contribution to the 2015 budget debate on Tuesday, Roberts said that the fence around the former Silver Sands property was paid for by the Government of Grenada and called for him to be proven wrong.
On Wednesday Sen Peter David proved him wrong by presenting information in writing to the Senate, that the invoice from Sunrise Construction for the fencing was paid for by an individual, Mr Danny Fakhre. “Based on what I have in front of me, I withdraw the comment,” Roberts said in his apology.
Silver Sands was once a striving hotel in Grenada, but shut its doors more than a decade ago. In September 2013 government disclosed that Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris plans to invest millions of dollars in Grenada’s tourism and hospitality industry by developing prime parcels of beachfront land, including the Silver Sands Hotel property on Grand Anse beach. Sawiris is described as third-richest man in Egypt.
A fence was constructed around the Silver Sands property, but users and small vendors on the beach are calling for its removal. Former Foreign Affairs Minister Nickolas Steele said that the fencing on the beach is a temporary move aimed at protection for the public in preparation for and during the construction of what government says will be a five-star property.
by Linda Straker
