Navajo Casino Development Approved
7th November, 2007
The Nevajo tribal council has approved a $100 million line of credit to finance the casino development, which was secured by the JP Morgan Chase in the beginning of this year.
This is what Nevajo President, Joe Shirley Jr., had to say about it: 'I think we're heading in the right direction. I can't wait to see the first casino go up.''
The process had been very slow, as the council had to approve it for some time and hold some work sessions to address the concerns about the huge financial risk that many have said this development could cause. The President was trying to speed up the process, as he feels, that the casino would be the economical solution that the tribe needs to address some issues, that exist within.
''Every day that we delay approval of the legislation, our nation loses the opportunity to provide essential services, create good paying jobs and to improve the standard of living for many of our citizens,'' he explained.
There were few people who disapproved the decision and voted against the development, like Delegate, Ervin Keeswood, who expressed some concerns about the document. After the work session the documents were sent to the Members of Budget and Finance Committee, who stated that there were some economic issues, that were not addressed properly, such as certain concerns over interest rates.
committee member Lorenzo Curley explains: ''Budget and Finance was assigned to flush those things out, but council decided in this legislation not to do that.”
Keeswood feels it is up to the nation to make the final decision. ''The nation should decide what it wants to do with approval from a bank,'' he explained.
Nevertheless, the council has approved the proposal and now things can at last start moving forward.
Navajo gaming chief Bob Winter explained: ''We can begin to move forward on all things needed to put a shovel into the ground.''
The credit line is very appealing for the tribe, as they will only pay interest for the first two years and the credit will be drawn in lumps of money instead of all in one go.
This development should certainly help the tribe with their unemployment problem, as there is more than a half of Navajo’s work force without jobs and the revenue, casino should generate would save the tribe from its desperate situation.
''It's about time we start giving them jobs, and then of course the Navajo Nation government is needing revenue all the time,'' Shirley explains.
