The Tribune

IT IS no secret — at least no secret among the work force at Baha Mar – that Sarkis Izmirlian, chairman and chief executive of Baha Mar, was paying his staff out of his own pocket, despite the fact that all work had stopped when the contractor closed down the project with no resumption date in mind.

Talks between the Export-Import Bank, China State Engineering Corp and Mr Izmirlian have been going on for some time with several trips being made to Beijing in a desperate attempt to break the deadlock between the partners. Prime Minister Christie, who made Bahamians believe that their whole economic future hung on this $3.5bn resort, desperately tried to bring the partners together. According to Mr Christie, his “personal intervention over several months with all three parties involved, led to substantial agreement on a packaged solution for additional funding by China Export Import Bank, the resumption of construction work by the general contractor, and the project completion”. According to Mr Christie, his intervention “is supported by exchange of correspondence as recently as June 26”.

Then on Monday came the shock announcement. Baha Mar had filed for voluntary bankruptcy under Chapter 11 with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court.

Mr Christie seemed surprised. He said that the shock announcement came “without notice” to his government. We do not know what individual members of his government knew, but we understand that Mr Christie should not have been surprised. In fact, according to our information, he should have know because Mr Izmirlian had made it clear to him that it was only a matter of days when the money he was using to pay staff until the resort opened would run out. Bankruptcy was the only escape route, he said. And on Monday morning, bankruptcy it was.

What did they expect Mr Izmirlian to do, sit on the wall while he was financially bled to death? To remain silent while a dream for which he had struggled to bring to fruition over so many years was snatched from his grasp by his two partners, who had lately arrived on the scene? No, this is not the character of a determined Sarkis Izmirlian. Voluntary liquidation to give him time to protect his assets, get more funding and complete the resort, was the only lifeline that he saw. He took it.

“Government will not take sides, but rather continue to support all stakeholders in coming to a resolution,” Mr Christie announced. “As the Government of The Bahamas, we take the side of the Bahamian people, and we are acting to ensure the needs and interests of the people are first and foremost,” said Mr Christie.

This is once that Mr Christie must take sides, and, in this case, the side of Mr Izmirlian, who is the only one who has reached deep into his pocket to pay Bahamians while there was no work for them, is the only side for him to take. According to Baha Mar’s complaint, China State Construction America “seemed more interested in receiving payment than completing the work”. Baha Mar alleged that its construction partner was demanding financial compensation that was four times greater then the sum verified by its financier’s project manager.

Even the $21m owed Baha Mar by the Bahamas government, which it is understood Mr Izmirlian wanted to go towards Bahamian staff’s salaries, was to be stopped by China’s Export-Import Bank and put into a separate account. It was not to be used to pay Bahamians.

Government has given the impression that this money has already been paid to Baha Mar. On June 23, Works Minister Philip “Brave” Davis confirmed that the $21m had been transferred to the Prime Minister’s office and that it was his office that would be “dealing with that”. The Tribune was told that of the $21m half would be paid on July 1, which was yesterday, and the remainder would be paid in “mid-July”.

Many Bahamians are under the impression that although Mr Christie says that his government plans to remain neutral, it has so far given the appearance of leaning more towards the Chinese.

After all, wasn’t it Mr Davis, Minister of Works, who was in Panama to assist in the cutting of the ribbon and the opening of China Construction America’s (CCA) Latin America Regional headquarters in Panama City, while in Nassau Baha Mar had already missed its first opening date and was just days away from missing a second.

While these same contractors were falling down on their obligations to Baha Mar, Mr Davis was in Panama singing their praises.

“For The Bahamas,” Mr Davis gushed, “we are grateful for the contribution of CCA in our efforts to improve our economy through foreign direct investment, the creation of jobs, and the provision of training opportunities.”

Would Mr Davis repeat those same words today?

The report went on to say that as “the financier, investor and builder of the Baha Mar project, CCA has helped create thousands of jobs for the Bahamian people and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for local businesses”.

None of this is true at the moment, as Bahamians are wondering where the next job is coming from should Baha Mar fail.

In the same report on the Panama opening, it was noted that the Chinese company’s most recent acquisition was the British Colonial Hilton. It is “estimated to create 250 jobs during construction and 500 permanent jobs after completion for Bahamians, contributing $750m to the Bahamian GDP in 20 years,” said the report.

This is indeed an interesting observation. It is understood that CCA gave an undertaking that it would do no work on the British Colonial property until the Baha Mar resort had been completed. However, while work is moving full steam ahead at the British Colonial, Baha Mar has been closed down. And if this government has the best interest of Bahamians at heart, how did CCA get all the necessary permits to start work on the British Colonial so quickly when Bahamian Bay Street property owners complain that they cannot even get a meeting with their prime minister to discuss their own plans for their Bay Street properties.

As long as China State Construction was the contractor and part investor, there was no room for a Bahamian contractor.

However, in The Tribune yesterday Bahamian contractors were urged to band together to complete the large resort. Bahamian Contractors Association’s president, Stephen Wrinkle, suggested that the job now be handed to a consortium of local companies as they were the ones that had “performed and carried” Baha Mar to its current state.

Those who have seen the Bahamian workmanship at the resort report that it is in fact excellent.

It might be a good idea for the Bahamians and Izmirlians to get together to complete the job for the sake of all residents of this country.