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Govt had meeting with Johnson, says Gracita
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Jan 6, 2006 14:33 UTC
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PHILIPSBURG - People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA) leader Councilwoman Gracita Arrindell reminded St. Maarten Democratic Party (DP) that members of government had meet with prominent US businessman Bob Johnson in 1999.
No follow-up was ever given from the side of government, she said Thursday.
Arrindell accused DP of “again misstating” the facts and trying to “mislead” the people about the interest shown by a potential investor to re-develop the Mullet Bay property.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Herald Tuesday, Johnson repeated his statement of 2003 that he was interested in Mullet Bay. DP Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams said in a reaction on Wednesday that government had not been invited to the gathering on Johnson’s boat and that there had been no meeting between Johnson and government.
Arrindell: “Doesn’t the DP Executive Council recall that it hosted a luncheon in honor of Bob Johnson and his party at a restaurant in St. Maarten? As I understand the facts, Wescot-Williams, Acting Lt. Governor Mathias Voges and members of the Executive Council hosted a luncheon for Johnson and his party to discuss with him potential opportunities to invest in St. Maarten. It is my understanding that there was never any follow-up by this DP government to get Johnson to consider investing or acquiring Mullet Bay.”
According to Arrindell, the DP government has “no shame” and will “attack” potential investors if they “dare state a position they do not like or agree with.”
“The history and practice of this DP government is to discredit or disparage investors that love our island paradise, frequently visit the island and consider investing here. Rather than listening to their views and inviting them to present their proposals, this government starts up its attack machine to try to harm the investor in the eyes of the community,” Arrindell stated in a press release.
She said a PPA Executive Council would have gone to Washington to recruit Johnson to invest in a hotel property here.
“PPA, rather than attacking Johnson, would have asked him to come here to speak to our youth about sports, entertainment and business. Johnson’s reach into the US business community is long and his contacts are deep. St. Maarten needs more friends and more investors who are willing to be frank with us and to tell us how we can be successful in recruiting investors to develop branded properties in conjunction with local investors,” she said.
Arrindell said she was “proud” to know Johnson, who started Black Entertainment Television (BET) more than 25 years ago before selling it to media giant Viacom for more than US $3.3 billion some five years ago. Today, Johnson is still chairman of BET.
In addition, Johnson owns more than 30 hotels and it is reported he is about to acquire a significant number of additional hotel properties that could bring his ownership to more than 60 hotels. He’s also the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and Stings, NBA men’s and women’s basketball teams in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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