Time-share owners at the Crowne Plaza Resort and Casino at the Royal Oasis are still very much concerned about their investments at that now-closed resort. Their hopes have been on a roller coaster ride through peaks and valleys over the past year, as periodic reports of the pending sale of the resort have all failed to materialize.

The resort was forced to close initially for repairs in 2004 after Hurricane Frances inflicted serious damage to it in September of that year. It was forecasted then that it would reopen within six months, but several weeks after the damages caused by Frances, an equally as powerful storm, Jeanne, hit Grand Bahama, dashing any hopes of it being reopened in the time that had been stated.

As the months rolled by, it became clear to the more than 1,200 employees, who had been hoping to return to work sometime soon, that they had officially joined the list of the unemployed. With mortgages and school fees to pay, some of them found themselves in deep financial trouble, but the government came to the rescue in May of 2005 and paid out an unprecedented $5 million to 900 displaced workers that was owed to them by the resort.

Under the payout agreement, the Government was to be reimbursed, supposedly after the Royal Oasis sale had been finalized. For more than a year the sale of the resort was reported to be "immanent." Back in March of this year, it seemed as if a buyer had definitely been found when Works Minister Bradley Roberts revealed that an agreement for the sale would be finalized by the end of that month. It was believed at the time that the potential buyer was Harcourt Developments, a property construction and management company out of Dublin, Ireland, but this prospect did not materialize. Another potential buyer also prominently mentioned at the time was Westgate Resorts, the third largest timeshare company in the world.

Why the sale of the resort was not finalized with one of these supposedly serious potential buyers only those involved in the negotiations know for sure, but it was reported that agreement could not be reached on who would pay the $5 million "advanced" by the Government.

A few months ago, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced in the House of Assembly that a buyer for the resort had definitely been found, and although he did not identify the company at the time, it was later revealed that he was referring to World Investment Holdings (WHI), which supposedly has agreed to purchase the property for $40 million. All sorts of questions have surfaced about principals involved in that company, but its chairman, Keith St. Clair, informed members of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce at a luncheon meeting last month that his company plans to invest $100 million for the first phase of the renovation.

In a story published in today's Freeport News, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe says that the sale to WHI is expected to be completed before the end of the month, but added that there are others who are interested in the property who "have indicated that they are ready to go in if something falls apart."

Meanwhile, those timeshare owners are still waiting for some word as to when they can reasonably expect to get information on their investments. This soap opera has gone on long enough. If the WIH deal falls through, Wilchcombe should find a way to inform these people who bought timeshares because they enjoy making repeated visits to The Bahamas when they can hope to resume benefiting from their investments.