Government sues Jungle Bay owner for over EC $7.0 million

The world reknown Jungle Bay Resort and Spa.

The suit claims that Rafael received money from the government under its economic citizenship program for the establishment of the World Acclaimed Jungle Bay Resort & Spa facility in Delices.

Rafael has expressed surprise at government’s action and has indicated that under the original agreement government gave investors a period of 20 years to repay the loan, which would give Jungle Bay Resort & Spa up until 2025 to repay, excluding a 3 year grace period, which was given to them.

On February 22, 2010 Jungle Bay Resort & Spa made an initial payment of EC $100,000.00 to the government of Dominica through the escrow account of the company’s attorney.

At the time, Rafael indicated that in 2006, Jungle Bay Resort & Spa accepted Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's proposal to discount their $6.1 million dollar loan balance by 50%. However, despite numerous meetings and requests, the company did not receive a revised document spelling out the new terms and conditions for the repayment of its loan.

The initial payment was viewed as a way of pre-empting the process and therefore Jungle Bay Resorts started to repay the loan. The funds would then be transferred from the attorney’s escrow account to the treasury when the appropriate documents containing the revised terms and conditions were obtained from the government.

At the time Rafael said that “the Prime Minister's 50% loan reduction offer is fair and appropriate compensation because the Government’s mismanagement of the Economic Citizen Project caused the project to incur additional construction costs.”

He went on to say that “Jungle Bay intends to pay the Government of Dominica one hundred thousand Eastern Caribbean dollars ($100,000EC) every February and August for the next twenty years.”

Mr. Rafael has expressed surprise at the most recent government action and says he does not understand why the government is requesting immediate payment.

In the General Elections of 2009 Rafael contested against the government as an independent candidate and has remained a vocal critic of the labour party administration. More recently he has been involved in mobilizing the opposition parties on the island.

Jungle Bay Resort & Spa is an award winning eco-adventure resort on the southeast of Dominica, which employs over 70 persons. The resort significantly contributes to the economy of the southeast with purchases of considerable amounts of produce, fish, other agricultural supplies as well as arts & crafts from local farmers and suppliers.

Jungle Bay has paid the Government of Dominica $1,409,191.96 in VAT payments from March 2006 through 2009 while guests have paid over half a million dollars of departure tax during this period.