The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts again criticised FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis amid negotiations over Baha Mar, saying the party chief has only engaged in public posturing “like a motley in a minstrel sideshow”.

In a speech given to the PLP’s Yamacraw Branch meeting on Monday night, Mr Roberts said Dr Minnis is incapable of making sensible judgment calls, as is expected of leaders who are required to think on their feet at a moment’s notice.

Mr Roberts even recognised the actions of former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who last week wrote to the chairman of China State Construction Engineering Corporation and the China Export-Import Bank, stating his hope that a resolution would soon be reached.

This is the second time in less than two weeks that Mr Roberts has castigated Dr Minnis over his actions and position on the Baha Mar impasse. The resort filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court last month leaving the fate of more than 2,000 employees hanging in the balance.

Mr Roberts said: “Where is Dr Hubert Minnis in the midst of all of this? He was upstaged not twice but three times. The Chamber of Commerce and the Employers’ Confederation have given (commentary) on the Baha Mar matter and have written both Sarkis (Izmirlian) and Prime Minister (Perry Christie).

“Brent Symonette (former minister of foreign affairs) publicly defended the sovereignty of the Bahamas and the dignity of Bahamians. Even Hubert Ingraham in a rare demonstration of diplomacy wrote to the China EXIM Bank to urge a speedy resolution to Baha Mar in the public interest. But nothing of value from Dr Minnis, but nonsense and public posturing like a motley in a minstrel sideshow.”

Following Mr Izmirlian’s announcement that the resort had filed for Chapter 11 in the US and Mr Christie’s admission that the government was caught off guard by this move, the nation’s leader invited Dr Minnis to be briefed on the matter.

However, this never took place after there was a disagreement between Mr Christie and Dr Minnis over the scheduled time the meeting was to take place.

Dr Minnis has maintained that he informed Mr Christie that he could meet at 10am last Monday. However, the prime minister has insisted that he tried on several occasions to inform Dr Minnis that he could not meet at that time due to a Cabinet meeting that was scheduled for 10am.

After waiting for more than an hour, Dr Minnis and his entourage left the Office of the Prime Minister, just as Mr Christie said he was pulling up to the building.

“When offered a meeting with the prime minister for a briefing, Minnis refused, saying he had to consult,” Mr Roberts added. “What kind of man or leader has to consult on an issue as important as Baha Mar?

“His timing was proof positive that he was not serious about meeting, he was simply into goofing off and could not be taken seriously. In the end he walked away from the briefing on Baha Mar. He is not being ready for the high office of prime minister as he has to consult with his colleagues as to whether he can meet with the prime minister on a very important issue which will affect thousands of Bahamians.

“He is incapable of making sensible judgment calls; leaders are routinely required to think and make judgment calls on their feet at a moment’s notice,” Mr Roberts said.

On the issue of Baha Mar’s bankruptcy filing, Mr Roberts noted that the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island went through a debt crisis in 2012 and emerged from the process unscathed with a new managing partner.

He added: “So this is nothing new for The Bahamas. I remain confident and optimistic that Baha Mar will be completed and opened as the Riviera of the Caribbean by years end.”