The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday rejected assertions that the government was trying to renege on its deal with Baha Mar over roadworks as negotiations hit the one-year mark.

The government is set to engage in a high-level “all-in” meeting with Baha Mar executives in an effort to avoid arbitration over final costing for the reconfiguration of West Bay Street, Mr Davis said yesterday.

The final figure in dispute is around $40m, according to Colin Higgs, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works, who said the government has already paid out around $28m.

Mr Davis said: “We had a deadline set for arbitration but we have agreed in our discussions to allow that deadline to pass following this meeting that we’re having that I call an ‘all-in’ meeting with all of our technical advisors present. Once that is completed then we will understand where we will go from there.

“If we are just sitting and hearing them then we might be able to come to an agreement. It’s important because first of all I’m talking about the public’s funds.”

Mr Davis provided an update on negotiations during a tour of the Bahamas Agricultural Marine Science Research Institute (BAMSRI) yesterday.

He added: “I’m talking about my money, your money and the people’s money and I want to ensure that when I pay the people’s money I’m getting value for my money and living up to the commitments that the government made once I’m satisfied of that and what that amount is we will pay.”

The government is obligated to pay $47.8m to Baha Mar if the cost of the reconfiguration of West Bay Street exceeded $70m; however, if the figure is less than $70m the government would only have to pay 50 per cent.

According to government technical experts last year, the value of the Baha Mar roadworks was reportedly assessed at around $58m. Baha Mar officials said total costs exceeded $100m.

At that time, government officials explained that the efforts to revisit the Baha Mar deal stemmed from questions regarding the cost per mile for the West Bay Street roadworks when compared to the costs of the Airport Gateway Project.

In an interview with Tribune Business last year, Baha Mar executives said the government had “no right” to “exclude, discount or modify” any of the infrastructure cost included in the company’s determination.

Telling Tribune Business that they anticipated the government would honour its Heads of Agreement, Uri Clinton, Senior Vice-President and General Counsel at Baha Mar, said all infrastructure costs associated with the reconfiguration and construction of West Bay Street had already been anticipated under the protocol in the Heads of Agreement (HOA) and that the HOA gave Baha Mar the authority to make a determination on costs.

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham also warned that the government’s “tedious, vexatious” efforts to revisit the deal may cause “unimaginable” harm to the Bahamas.

He said the government’s commitment to pay more than $45mfor infrastructural work was part of the initial agreement signed in 2005 – during the first Christie-led government.

Mr Ingraham said he was “saddened to see the good name of the Bahamas as a trustworthy and transparent jurisdiction in which to conduct business” threatened by an attempt to delay meeting a valid financial obligation.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said: “We are not reneging on any deal. I know that’s what’s being said – but we are not reneging on any deal. We are in the process, and at the end of the day if we have a disagreement on what is paid, that is not reneging.

“It’s just a disagreement and there is a mechanism that is set up in our arrangement as to how to resolve it, and that is taking its course.”