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Kern's mother owes UDC $2m
Corporation paying GCT on unpaid rent for 2 state-owned Negril beach parks
Monday, March 03, 2008
The state-owned Urban Development Corporation (UDC) alleges that it is owed almost $2 million by the mother of scandalised politician Kern Spencer in unpaid rent for two beach parks at Long Bay in Negril, Westmoreland, highly placed UDC sources said yesterday.
The uncollected rent dating back to October 2005 had attracted General Consumption Tax (GCT), the UDC sources disclosed in a corporation document, a copy of which was obtained by the Observer.
According to the UDC, between 2002 and 2003, it leased two beach parks in Negril (Long Bay Park #1) to an entity called Bayside Restaurant and Pub based in Black River, St Elizabeth and headed by Mrs Peggy Ewen, mother of Kern Spencer.
"The required rent for both parks was a paltry $60,000 per month. Yet UDC personnel found it impossible to collect from Mrs Ewen and many months would go by without any payment being made," the UDC source said.
Spencer and members of his family, including his mother, are under police investigation triggered by Contractor-General Greg Christie's report on the alleged misuse of state funds in what is now dubbed the Cuban light bulb affair.
Kern Spencer, former state minister in the energy ministry, and two others are out on bail after being arrested last week, as police deepened their probe into the scandal over new energy minister, Clive Mullings' claims that apparent hanky panky led to the then government spending millons of dollars on the Cuban light bulb project, a gift of four million fluorescent bulbs from Cuba to the Jamaican people.
Last week also, police raided property owned by Ewen in Black River, but press reports did not ascertain if anything was taken by detectives.
The UDC source said Spencer occasionally made payments and transacted other business on behalf of his mother's company. The UDC also noted that one of its (UDC) senior executives, Jewel Spencer, was related to Kern Spencer.
But the corporation did not say whether the executive had anything to do with the rental of the beach parks to Ewen.
The document stressed that the UDC had invested over $10 million in infrastructure development and construction of sanitary and recreational facilities in the parks before "giving" them to Spencer's mother.
Each park is over three acres of prime beach property in Long Bay, part of the world-famous seven mile beach in Negril, it said.
Top executives of UDC at the time allegedly refused to act and the Bayside Restaurant and Pub was allowed to operate the public beach parks without paying rent for almost two years," the UDC document further alleged.
"As of today, Bayside has not settled this debt and over $1,200,000 is owed for rent. In addition, Bayside refused to cleanup massive piles of debris dumped ashore by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and, under pressure from the Hanover Public Health Department, the Hanover Parish Council and local residents, UDC had to spend over $600,000 cleaning up both parks.
"This amount should have been repaid by Bayside, but to date it has not been refunded. After months of persistent pressure from board members, UDC's top management finally evicted Bayside in October 2005 with outstanding payments of close to $2,000,000 which to date has not been paid."
The corporation also claimed that the rent charged to Bayside for each park was small compared to the amount charged to another tenant, Cosmos Restaurant for a smaller parcel of land on which the tenant built his own facilities.
"If any of the small craft vendors or other UDC tenants owe more than three months' rent, UDC staff are instructed to padlock their doors or gates," the document said.
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Corporation paying GCT on unpaid rent for 2 state-owned Negril beach parks
Monday, March 03, 2008
The state-owned Urban Development Corporation (UDC) alleges that it is owed almost $2 million by the mother of scandalised politician Kern Spencer in unpaid rent for two beach parks at Long Bay in Negril, Westmoreland, highly placed UDC sources said yesterday.
The uncollected rent dating back to October 2005 had attracted General Consumption Tax (GCT), the UDC sources disclosed in a corporation document, a copy of which was obtained by the Observer.
According to the UDC, between 2002 and 2003, it leased two beach parks in Negril (Long Bay Park #1) to an entity called Bayside Restaurant and Pub based in Black River, St Elizabeth and headed by Mrs Peggy Ewen, mother of Kern Spencer.
"The required rent for both parks was a paltry $60,000 per month. Yet UDC personnel found it impossible to collect from Mrs Ewen and many months would go by without any payment being made," the UDC source said.
Spencer and members of his family, including his mother, are under police investigation triggered by Contractor-General Greg Christie's report on the alleged misuse of state funds in what is now dubbed the Cuban light bulb affair.
Kern Spencer, former state minister in the energy ministry, and two others are out on bail after being arrested last week, as police deepened their probe into the scandal over new energy minister, Clive Mullings' claims that apparent hanky panky led to the then government spending millons of dollars on the Cuban light bulb project, a gift of four million fluorescent bulbs from Cuba to the Jamaican people.
Last week also, police raided property owned by Ewen in Black River, but press reports did not ascertain if anything was taken by detectives.
The UDC source said Spencer occasionally made payments and transacted other business on behalf of his mother's company. The UDC also noted that one of its (UDC) senior executives, Jewel Spencer, was related to Kern Spencer.
But the corporation did not say whether the executive had anything to do with the rental of the beach parks to Ewen.
The document stressed that the UDC had invested over $10 million in infrastructure development and construction of sanitary and recreational facilities in the parks before "giving" them to Spencer's mother.
Each park is over three acres of prime beach property in Long Bay, part of the world-famous seven mile beach in Negril, it said.
Top executives of UDC at the time allegedly refused to act and the Bayside Restaurant and Pub was allowed to operate the public beach parks without paying rent for almost two years," the UDC document further alleged.
"As of today, Bayside has not settled this debt and over $1,200,000 is owed for rent. In addition, Bayside refused to cleanup massive piles of debris dumped ashore by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and, under pressure from the Hanover Public Health Department, the Hanover Parish Council and local residents, UDC had to spend over $600,000 cleaning up both parks.
"This amount should have been repaid by Bayside, but to date it has not been refunded. After months of persistent pressure from board members, UDC's top management finally evicted Bayside in October 2005 with outstanding payments of close to $2,000,000 which to date has not been paid."
The corporation also claimed that the rent charged to Bayside for each park was small compared to the amount charged to another tenant, Cosmos Restaurant for a smaller parcel of land on which the tenant built his own facilities.
"If any of the small craft vendors or other UDC tenants owe more than three months' rent, UDC staff are instructed to padlock their doors or gates," the document said.
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