PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller says that she never got a response from her tourism minister, Dr Wykeham McNeill, after urging him in early 2012 to try and save the Outameni property.

Simpson Miller said that she received a letter from Minister of Transport, Works and Housing Dr Davies in February 2012 on efforts made by the previous administration to help save the tourist attraction.

She told the House of Representatives Tuesday that she wrote McNeill in March 2012 to intervene to see what he could do to save the property, but got no response.

“The matter never again came to my attention, until it was reported in the media that the property was purchased by the National Housing Trust,” Simpson Miller said.

“Is it that you got a response that nothing could be done, or you got no response at all (from the minister)?” Holness pressed the prime minister.

“The minister of tourism will be answering questions on the matter (later), and I am sure he will be able to provide further information on this,” she responded.

The Opposition leader asked the question a second time, but the prime minister answered, “I told you I received no response.”

McNeill, while answering questions from Opposition spokesperson on tourism Shahine Robinson about the same issue, later told the House that following a proposal from the minister of state in his ministry, Damion Crawford, that the government purchase the property for use as a multi-purpose entertainment and tourism facility, the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) was asked to intervene.

“The DBJ responded that based on a preliminary assessment, the proposal did not fit a public-private partnership model, as the government of Jamaica would assume most or all of the risks,” McNeill said.

He said that in light of the advice, a decision was made by the ministry that it would take no further action on

the matter.

While responding to the questions tabled by Holness, the prime minister had said that in a letter to her in January, 2012, the late Dr Heather Little-White, sister of Lennie Little-White, who originally owned the Outameni property, appealed to her to “see how the attraction could be refinanced, such as a mortgage for 15 years or more”.

She said that Dr Little-White told her said that she had also raised the matter with former prime ministers Bruce Golding and Andrew Holness, as well as then minister of youth, sports and culture, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange.

She said that there was no response from either Holness or Grange, but Simpson Miller noted that Golding had asked his tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, to seek to get the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) involved in assisting the Outameni project.

Dr McNeill told the House that under the Golding administration TEF granted the Outameni project $7 million in December 2008 for repairs to lighting and the parochial road leading to the venue. The work was carried out through the government-run National Works Agency.

He said that in October 2013 the TEF also wrote off the outstanding balance of $2.2 million on a loan of $3 million made to the Outameni company in May 2009 following the purchase of the project by the National Housing Trust.