The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

FNM Chairman Michael Pintard yesterday called the government “contradictory” for saying it was again willing to observe talks between Baha Mar and its Chinese partners to hopefully secure a deal out of court, days after filing a winding-up petition against the resort.

He also blasted the Christie administration for its “lack of forethought” in “making statements and extremely important decisions”.

The senator suggested that the government’s handling of the Baha Mar crisis to date has effectively compromised its position of a neutral mediator in the matter. He said the government’s stance at times appeared to be “indistinguishable from the position of the construction company and the lender”.

Days after FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said he respected the decision to file the winding-up petition, Mr Pintard questioned the government’s motive behind the move to summon provisional liquidators. He suggested that doing so could negatively impact The Bahamas’ reputation as a jurisdiction where the government is “heavy handed in intervening in private matters”.

In a statement released on Monday night, the government said it was willing to observe discussions between Baha Mar, its general contractor China Construction America, and the project’s lender the Export-Import Bank of China to secure an agreement to complete and open the resort.

The government dubbed its petition to liquidate the resort a “precautionary measure” to protect Bahamians if an agreement is not reached out of court, adding that it was still willing to be an “active participant” in talks between all the relevant parties to an agreement that “defines the terms of the construction and financing for the resumption, completion and opening of Baha Mar.”

However, Mr Pintard dismissed the notion of the government wanting to serve as a mediator in this stage of the Baha Mar crisis, something he said “would have been laughable were it not so sad.”

“The moment it detected that there was a problem between the contractor and the developer that led to the delay, the government should have been involved in trying to find a resolution and a way forward to make sure that the property would open on time,” he said. “Instead, the government injected itself into the discussion and brought a tremendous amount of venom with it, evidenced by remarks made by the prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs.

“The series of legal manoeuvres by the government without full disclosure to the public of the rationale behind those decisions and the potential implications of those decisions has further worsened relations between the parties involved, and clearly placed the government in the mind of many members of the public in one camp or on one side of this conflict. If there are any sides that the government should choose, it should choose the side of the Bahamian people, which is quite distinct from the side of the construction company, the lender or the developer. But the position of the government at times appears to be indistinguishable from the position of the construction company and the lender.”

Regarding the government’s commitment to being a mediator in discussions on Baha Mar, Mr Pintard said: “Mr Christie continues to demonstrate his lack of discipline and the government’s lack of forethought in both making statements and extremely important decisions.”

“So, of course, it’s contradictory,” he added.

On Monday, the government expressed interest in all the relevant parties returning to the table outside of court to try to reach an agreement on the fate of the mega resort.

“The project is already 97 per cent complete,” the government’s statement said. “It is now a matter of national interest that the resort opens in a timely manner…The government continues to urge Baha Mar, China Construction and EXIM Bank to secure an agreement to complete and open the resort.”

Meanwhile, Mr Pintard said the government’s move to liquidate Baha Mar will have consequences in the international community.

“The last thing you want is when people are considering investing in this jurisdiction that they begin to wonder to what extent can the government inject itself in a business transition or make a decision in a business transaction that can jeopardise their investment. It appears that the government is on that track at present.”

On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder set a hearing date of July 31 to address the government’s winding up petition against Baha Mar.

Justice Winder is expected to give an oral decision today on Baha Mar’s motion to uphold, in this jurisdiction, its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the United States.