Earl Bousquet Column Addresses Claims Made By PM Browne Against Sandals Resorts

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SOURCE: VOICE NEWSPAPER: Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler

Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler

More in the Mortar than The Pestle?

By Earl Bousquet

It’ both amazing and amusing how traditional Caribbean politicians can fall in-and-out of love with foreign investors, according to how the wind blows.

Take the latest claim by one Caribbean leader, in a nation hosting a Sandals property, that Sandals Resorts International (SRI) is simply out to milk money regionally and the region’s flagship global tourism brand is simply a 21st Century brand of Modern Slavery and colonial exploitation.

The claim is that Sandals owes taxes and simply refuses to pay and the plaintiff – a man who knows money – painting SRI with a broad brush as an over-exploitative conglomerate that simply bleeds every island nation it operates in.

Amusingly, the banker in the politician admits SRI is important to the nation, but the politician in the banker calls on SRI to pick-up its hotel and take it elsewhere.

Amazingly too, while citing one case out of the nine Caribbean nations and territories where Sandals and Beaches operate over a dozen six-star luxury properties, the plaintiff also claims the group is building an empire off the blood and sweat of Caribbean workers.

The journalist in me, aware of the politics that drives politicians and governments with cash-flow problems and also knowing how praiseworthy this same leader has been of SRI, immediately started trying to read between the lines for the unscripted messages.

But even before I was able to start my search engine, I felt strongly (and still do) that there has to be something hiding somewhere in an empty political pork barrel.

Not that I have figures to verify or to challenge the accuser, but I reject the wild allegation that Sandals is engaging in modern slavery and colonial exploitation everywhere it operates in the Caribbean.

That is more of claim than a proven fact, especially when one hears what fellow leaders from other Caribbean territories where Sandals operates say about SRI’s operations.

Any regional leader will know that any government that so wishes can shake-down any foreign (or local) investor in the name of ‘tax avoidance’ or ‘tax evasion’ (two entirely different things before the law); and anyone familiar with taxes can find arguments to make cases for either, or both.

But sounding like shaking-down investors is simply not good PR strategy and doesn’t attract foreign investors.

As with every other case before the law courts, or the jury of public opinion, this one also has to have an interesting history – and in this case, one that could also have seen plaintiff and accused engage in earlier exchanges (as between the island’s tax authorities and SRI’s money managers).

The figures quoted by the plaintiff in this case are manageable by SRI standards and deemed necessary by the leader concerned — and such disputes or disagreements are not only normal between investors and tax departments, but always eventually end-up in a win-win situation after discussions and good faith negotiations.

This is not the first such outlandish claim by a Caribbean politician against a foreign (in this case Caribbean) investor– and it won’t be the last.

But the blanket claim that SRI engages in modern slavery flies in the face of the experiences with Sandals and Beaches in Barbados, Curacao, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & The Grenadines or Turks and Caicos Islands, where, in most cases, SRI is still the biggest foreign investor and employer in the Caribbean’s hotel and tourism industry.

Isolated temporary disagreements being discussed between tax inspectors and SRI therefore cannot be fairly used to equate Adam Stewart and Butch Stewart’s heirs and successors with the families and companies that benefitted – and still do — from centuries of Chattel Slavery through the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Sandals is in the competitive global tourism and travel business and has faced several sweet and sour challenges, from acknowledgement as the biggest taxpayer in the tourism sector across the region, to a legal challenge to its definition of ‘a couple’.

SRI provides assured incomes for tens of thousands of Caribbean workers and their families– best shown when COVID-19 arrived in 2020 and the Stewart Family kept its hotel doors open and employees paid during the pandemic, while almost very other major operator closed-down to save their profits.

Founding Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart simply insisted SRI had to spend to get travel agents to source the visitors to earn from and keep the tourism flag flying across the region.

Adam Stewart, as SRI Executive Chairman, has not only continued in his dad’s footsteps, but also taken this unique Caribbean vacation product into the realm of Sandals 2.0 — spending more than ever across the region in a shorter space of time, developing old properties and building new ones, almost annually.

SRI operates with hundreds of administrative staff in the Caribbean that feeds into the rest of the world from Europe to Asia and beyond, but there’s no problem with SRI that can’t be solved through a phone call with Adam Stewart.

Instead, I understand, Stewart read the ‘Guardian’ story like everyone else – as a matter made public by a political leader who smartly claimed he didn’t want this matter to ‘go public’.

Interestingly, I’m not sure Sandals workers will agree to being called ‘slaves’ or to describe SRI as engaging in Modern Slavery or even under-paying workers, especially as, including in the instance under review, Sandals is usually the only tourism entity in the industry to give a wage increase.

It’s unfortunate any Caribbean leader will describe SRI as a company only out to make profits and dig-out governments’ and taxpayers’ eyes – and the leader pointing fingers is also undoubtedly aware that SRI wasn’t built with slave ships trafficking economically-enslaved Caribbean people across the region.

But then, like we tend to always like to say in these parts, in this case like all like-others, there simply had to be more in the mortar than just a pestle – as I would find out.

Indeed, according to my search engine, in his New Year’s Day address of 2023 it was the same leader, as Prime Minister, who boasted that the Sandals hotel in his country was deepening its investment with the expansion of its property in early 2023, employing an additional 300 persons.

If he felt so concerned about Sandals’ labour practices, why such a big boast back then?

Furthermore, if the hotel did indeed ‘pick up its hotel and leave’ (as he’s invited SRI to do), what would happen to the hundreds of persons employed there? Will he immediately hire them?

Will his government match the retirement benefits and medical benefits that they currently enjoy?

But such leaders can only play so-much politics with investors and their investments.

This same leader was beating this same horse a few years back, positioning himself as the champion of the common man ahead of the 2017 elections — and not long after he won, the champion suddenly realised that Sandals was the best thing since sliced bread, even trying to woo them to build more hotels.

It is simply history repeating itself — and whatever the intent of the particular Prime Minister, at this particular point time, he must not continue to seem to think the ‘common man’ is so naive and without common sense as not to think or feel he will once-again change his opinion, based on whether he gets what he’s demanding.

So then, what’s new? Nothing really…

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12 COMMENTS

  1. If I give you a bottle of milk, do I have the right to kick it down?

    Sandals, just pay you taxes…No matter you give the people work, or you were ‘bigged’ up….. you are not absolved from your duties in granting the country what is is deserved..

    Jus’ pay up wha you awe r we no man!

  2. This is a PR piece and nothing else. We the poor people of the Caribbean have to pay taxes. So called investors pay little and nothing as they milk concessions. Sandals workers are not well paid, those in Jamaica, suffer more than the other islands where the labour laws and unions are stronger. Local businesses in Antigua do not like to deal with Sandals as it takes them up to 3 months to get paid. If all an investor brings is employment, is that enough and justified? All the all inclusive money of Sandals and all the others are paid outside of the country. They just transfer enough to pay salaries.

  3. I am not defending Sandals . If they owed taxes ,pay up. What is strange to me is the giving away of far more to PLH and YIDA,that I can say haven’t contributed nothing close to Antigua’s economy compared to Sandals. Give all the investors a level playing field. Seems like the Asians can get away with everything.

  4. HAROLD E. LOVELL started this mess. now he run gone to Canda and leave his shitty legacy behind!

    After allowing Sandals to hold on to our ABST monies, little Butch Jr. gave him a plaque. Can you imagine that????? What an ASS!!!! WORST POITICIAN EVER!!!!!

  5. This government is looking for a quick bail out, Sandals has put Antigua oand I stand on that. You are quick to call Sandals name because you can’t bully the Chairman. Why should Sandals alone pay all of that tax in the said amount. There is more to this story, Sandals pays all their tax in Jamaica . If Sandals have to pay that amount they all have to stand firm to this feisty boy Adam him head top bald like pig batty

  6. Adam. Is a reputable man, i”m very sure there is more to this than than we know. People like to jump on the negative. The Spanish Hotels are the worst in the Tourism Industry, the treat black people like dogs. All you people on here talking about How Sandals treat their staff. Shut you all mouths, Sandals is the only company I read about investing in their staff, giving away free college degrees none other. Now if Sandals has to pay all of that big amount of money in tax in Antigua , weh the other investors paying, lry win know. You’ll PM is playing a nasty game, look at what he has done to Antigua worst Prime Minister in the history of Antigua

  7. Sandals name seems to be the easy name to call. You all come on here to bash Sandals about not paying their staff properly but celebrate the Spanish hotels that treats us worst. I work for the Spanish brand and sometimes up to six months vendors are still waiting to be paid so don’t come on social media and act like Sandals is the worst. Which hotel take care of their staff and all of them are 100% happy none. Most investors in the hospitality Industry moves their money out of the country they invest in, it’s not just Sandals for you young ones. Now something is very wrong, I have never heard this about Sandals never. Could it be a that your Prime Minister is trying to abuse Sandals in Antigua it more sounds like that. And because Sandals push back you think taking this to the news will help. Because the ones who dislike Sandals would bash them. I work for another company and my sister works for Sandals, she said it’s the best company I will not join the negative comments

  8. The article is distasteful, the words coming from the Prime Minister of Antigua’s mouth is disgusting. I would not urge any foreign investors to invest their money in Antigua.
    The Prime Minister is acting like he’s a gangster collecting extortion money. Don’t pay it if the rest is not paying Adam and that amount of tax is alarming.

  9. Adam mech die bald head man go and fix up Antigua, where is all the money he has gotten to fix this country. Antigua is in it’s worst state since he took over as Prime Minister.

    Look the amount of millions Sandals give this country through their Sandals foundation, free college, take care of our communitites. Where is all the money you have gotten to fix Antigua Prime Minister
    I not holding down my mouth and talk, but none of the other investors are paying taxes
    Yu day go come, the worst Prime Minister of Antigua

  10. This Prime Minister needs a wakeup call. I hope Sandals does not give you a dime, You should move out of Antigua not Sandals

  11. The unscripted message here is Sandals owes taxes and refuses to pay them.
    Jump, dance and skip around it, it’s the crux of the problem.
    Just pay.
    We’re tired of investors doing this crap and whether there are a host of others doing this ot not doesn’t negate the fact that Sandals is a debtor too.

Comments are closed.