HAMILTON, Bermuda--After 27 years of operation, the Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) will cease by January 2024, when it merges fully with the West End Development Corporation (Wedco), creating a new entity.
Members of Parliament (MPs) agreed on Friday night in the House of Assembly to the dissolution of the quango, which formed in 1996 to manage hundreds of acres of military base lands given back to Bermuda.
Minister of Public Works Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch opened the debate with brief remarks that the boards of both quangos had “worked tirelessly” over the past eight months to plan the transition.
That includes coming up with a name for the new entity, he said, and aligning the union collective bargaining agreements of both.
Accounting has already been amalgamated in Dockyard, MPs heard.
The minister reiterated that no jobs would be lost in the process.
Announced last July in the House, the efficiencies and cost savings move was described by Colonel Burch as creating “one new entity, as these two quangos share similar objectives, mandates, skills, accounting procedures and staffing levels”.
Shadow Minister of Public Works Craig Cannonier said some in the Opposition felt the symmetries between the two would bring potential savings, while others were “slightly concerned about the move in that it might jeopardise nuances between the communities”.
Cannonier told the House he was “disappointed” that the BLDC, with “such a vast amount of property” in the form of Southlands in St. David’s, had not achieved more.
He said the former United States (US) base land covered “at least 85 acres of land not earmarked for anything”.
Government MP Anthony Richardson reminded MPs of the new opportunities coming for the East End with a massive overhaul of its water supply and waste water treatment.
Leader of the Opposition Cole Simons asked for details on the “vision for St. George’s”, with the “vibrancy that we see in Dockyard” brought to the East End. He added: “We are supportive of this initiative – we understand it makes sense economically.”
Opposition MP Susan Jackson asked of the two merged quangos: “Are they going to move forward – or will they continue with what I’m going to describe as maintenance and firefighting?”
Several opposition MPs highlighted the need for a central supermarket for the St. David’s community.
Colonel Burch told the House: “Let me just start by saying this is a journey that began 20 years ago with a 2003 report on untangling Bermuda’s quangos, and it covered all the quangos in government. To be brutally honest, all three of the governments that have governed the BLDC since 1996 are guilty of not advancing work at BLDC.”
Colonel Burch reminded MPs that in a community survey last year, the St. David’s community identified having their own a grocery store as “the number one issue” – with private enterprise being sought to fill the need.
He said St. David’s had to have its own identity similar to that of Dockyard as the island’s cruise port, but that ageing infrastructure such as the water system had held it back.
Colonel Burch said the amalgamation was to be completed by January 2024, adding: “If we finish early, we will move.”
The dissolution of the BLDC was approved unanimously. ~ The Royal Gazette ~
