Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Lister: Morgan’s Point can create hundreds of jobs

Independent MP Terry Lister

The need to create new tourism products for Bermuda dominated discussion in the House of Assembly on Friday night.One member sounded a clear warning to the new One Bermuda Alliance Government that without the creation of jobs “everything will come to naught”.Independent MP Terry Lister questioned the OBA Government on why Morgan’s Point has suddenly dropped off the radar.The vast property spans two constituencies in Southampton represented by Mr Lister and House Speaker Randolph Horton.Mr Lister said: “I am still at a loss because I don’t understand it at all, as to why Morgan’s Point disappeared right off the scale when Morgan’s Point will produce hundreds of jobs, not a few jobs, but hundreds, and wonderful opportunities.“It was to create a facility of a high standard, yet we hear nothing about it, so tell us what the story is, figure out how we’re going to get it going and at this point in time, the sooner we can get a Morgan’s Point project underway the better off our country is.“All the good things that the OBA Government wish to do will come to naught if we don’t get the jobs; it’s as simple as that,” Mr Lister said.“I’m going to encourage the Ministers and the Premier to make this the priority and whenever they’re talking about a new event tie it in to a job. Tell us a job’s coming out of this activity and show the country how we are making it better. If we’re really going to make the change we have to come up with jobs,” he said.Meanwhile former Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert said the day has come to serve alcoholic beverages on the beach and other spots tourists frequent while vacationing in Bermuda.In terms of tourism he said Bermuda is in desperate need of new tourism products including more beach vendors with liquor licences.He noted that he and former Cabinet colleagues were working on “ideas to open up some things on Horseshoe Bay to make some things happen”.Setting up full-time beach volleyball and soccer programmes with individual entities was one idea floated during the Motion to Adjourn.Mr Furbert said: “We believe there’s an agreement that you can work together with the environment to create opportunities for the Minister of Tourism to attract sports groups in to Bermuda through things like beach tennis, football and volleyball events.“You’re going to get some opposition from those individuals out there who want to protect the little small cedar tree which is only about three feet high and has a little bird sitting on it. We’re going to get those problems but we need to make it happen.“Also we need to move on the Long Bay Beach plan. Horseshoe Bay is over used, when you have individuals coming off that ship and it’s 7,000 converging on Horseshoe Bay it’s doing more damage to our environment than if we allow individuals to go on Long Bay Beach.“We need plans that allow individuals to rent their umbrellas on the beach, maybe have someone doing a little massage on the beach to create new opportunities for Bermudians to go up there and have their own little business. But we’ve got to put a better bathroom facility up there and our former Minister of Public Works was working on that to have one in place this year. This would encourage more people to move over from Horseshoe Bay to Long Bay.Mr Furbert concluded: “These are the things that we need in terms of new products in this country, we need new products. There are some things that we can make happen now.”