FORMER State Minister for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez.
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
ACTING Attorney General Damian Gomez said yesterday “there is a likelihood” the government will pay the salaries of Baha Mar’s Bahamian employees for the work period that ends today.
However, in a letter to staff yesterday, Baha Mar executive Magdalena Hamya criticized the government for not planning to also pay the resort’s non-Bahamian employees, saying this decision sends a terrible message to the resort’s non-Bahamian workers.
The statement, posted to the resort’s website, read: “The unfairness of the Government’s refusal is underscored by the fact that the Government has already processed two payroll cycles for our Bahamian citizens and requested details required to process the third cycle.”
Up to press time yesterday, the Christie Administration had not publicly disclosed whether it would extend their commitment to pay the Bahamian employees for a third consecutive pay period.
When asked about the matter outside the House of Assembly, Mr Gomez said “we will see what happens in the next few days,” adding that the matter was not being considered at the time.
However, in an interview with The Tribune later in the day, he said: “I think the Bahamian workers will be paid. There is a likelihood that they will be paid.”
The government announced that it would pay Bahamian employees at the resort for one month, stating that the decision was a bid to block the more than 2,400 workers from being used as pawns in the resort’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
At the time, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson would not confirm whether there was any plan to extend payments beyond that date if parties were unable to negotiate an agreement out of court to complete the project.
The payments were made bi-weekly for the two pay periods with some delays, which were attributed to difficulties obtaining payment information from Baha Mar.
If the government decides to pay those employees, it is unclear when they would make the salaries available, as today is the payday for Baha Mar’s workers.
Nonetheless, Ms Hamya, vice president of Human Resources and Organizational Development, yesterday said the government’s decision not to pay the resort’s non-Bahamian employees is difficult to contemplate given its earlier statement that it did not want employees to be used as pawns.
She reaffirmed that the employment status of all workers had not changed. Her letter highlights the tension between Baha Mar and the government after the latest round of Beijing negotiations resulted in no deal.
“This is a terrible message the government is now sending to our non-Bahamian citizens,” she wrote.
“We acknowledge the irony that you came to The Bahamas based on the government’s stringent review of your qualifications in granting you a work permit,” it continued.
“It is very distressing for us to contemplate that the government of the Bahamas finds it acceptable to leave you without salaries that you have already earned.”
The resort again pointed out that arrangements in a US Delaware Bankruptcy Court last month would have allowed its developer to pay all employees if the Bahamas Supreme Court approved its Chapter 11 process.
In those court documents, it was revealed that arrangements were also made to eventually lay off most of the resort’s staff if efforts to restructure its affairs were not successful in a short period of time.
However, this bit of information was not included in yesterday’s press statement.
The letter continued: “Sarkis (Izmirlian) expressly arranged to provide Debtor in Possession (DIP) financing to the company to fund those [salary] payments.”
“Unfortunately, the use of these funds has been blocked at this time because of the subsequent actions by the Government of the Bahamas.”
It added: “Sarkis remains ready and willing to make funds available needed for the payments of your salaries but he is regrettably unable to do so as a result of the Government’s actions.”
Last night, Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts accused Ms Hamya of misleading employees over the government’s stated commitment. He called her comments “dishonest”, “inflammatory” and “divisive”.
Baha Mar, the government, CCA and China Export-Import Bank will be back in the Supreme Court for a hearing on the petition tomorrow.
Comments
Hogfish 9 years, 4 months ago
even for an old dog like me this just don't seem professional.
Sure, i don't want my tax dollars going to ANY private enterprise worker let alone foreign but the government should never have made them pawns in the first place and commit to pay all their salaries. If the foreigner is here legaly then the governemt also committed to paying them. Or again they breaking they committment.
It now shows total lack of professionalism and Discrimentation at a level that now has wide international exposure!
I am so sick of this shit. We are looking like total fools to the World!
MonkeeDoo 9 years, 4 months ago
They are truly Dumbo's of the first order. If they get their way tomorrow, someone ( Bahamas Government ) will have to chip in some money just to pay the liquidator. PwC and brother Bowe are no cheap dates. The Government have bold faced lied to the country about paying from the money that is owed to Baha Mar because they cannot unilaterally decide on an accounting offset, so it is the Treasury that is bearing this cost and they are getting scared.
MonkeeDoo 9 years, 4 months ago
Bradley should leave politics like Sir Coaks. He too is a jackass.
sheeprunner12 9 years, 4 months ago
Damien Gomez QC acts as Izzy just stuck a fire brand up his ass ....... he seems to have a pet peeve against Izzy and he loves to take the limelight and pontificate like his papa ..... but I hope he don get all the paperwork outa the way with Samiento & Four Seasons and he don cut da $1Million cheque for Philip Bethel ............. friggin crooked Minion
I cry for south Eleuthera ............... Minion just looking out for his drug dealing clients
Emac 9 years, 4 months ago
I am in awe that the Bahamian populous would even let this government get by with all of this shite in 2015!!! Our people have their priorities f up for sure. WOW
realfreethinker 9 years, 4 months ago
These assholes just winging it> It is quite obvious that they never had a plan for what they knew was going on for many months. To this very day they still do not have a plan,just reacting to every little press release by Bahamar. Truly amateurs.LOST.INCOMPETENT.
Honestman 9 years, 4 months ago
Oh they have a plan alright - it just doesn't involve you or I or the rest of the honest and hard working Bahamians.
sheeprunner12 9 years, 4 months ago
............ and what was that statement about using the Bahamar workers as "pawns"?????
TalRussell 9 years, 4 months ago
You Comrades, seems have lots insulting and nasty words to describe members of the government, but seems not bother any you's, that Izmirlain is NOT a man the PM can or should trust. Would you trust someone who shook your hand on a deal and then un-be-knowing to you - only days later did run behind your back to Delaware, to file for bankruptcy protection? If you's would, you're nothing but a bunch red asses lacking in common sense, much less business sense.
In the Papa Hubert or Pindling governing days, Izmirlian's Cable Beach's ass, would have been the grass, and Pindling and Papa, would been's lawn mowers.
Sickened 9 years, 4 months ago
No red here buddy Tal! I am still convinced that our government knew that chapter 11 was being contemplated AND in process. Just like I am convinced that the government knows that they will be revaluing our B$ against the USD in the not so distant future. No businessman and no government can be completely trusted.
banker 9 years, 4 months ago
The IMF warning to stop foreign borrowing to support the reserves, signals that the jig is up. The devaluation of the Bahamian dollar is not far off. Then watch what a breadbasket item will cost. Milk, eggs and cheese will be unaffordable. Bahamians will have to rely on remittances from abroad, just like the Haitians. I have a work permit for another country, and already relatives are asking me to "send them something" when I get a chance and when I get out.
Well_mudda_take_sic 9 years, 4 months ago
Maynard-Gibson aka the Wicked Witch and Gomez aka the Minion know full well that the salary payments being made to the Bahamian employees are unlawful, especially given the government's filing of a petition that Baha Mar be placed in liquidation. The government's assertion that it has the right to make these salary payments from amounts that it purports to owe Baha Mar in connection with the road works is both specious and fallacious. There is no legal right of offset here that would justify the government applying the salary payments made to reduce the amounts it owes Baha Mar. The government is wrongfully (illegally) behaving as if Justice Winder has already heard and approved the government's petition for Baha Mar to be placed in involuntary or compulsory liquidation and as if the salary amounts owing to the Bahamian employees rank ahead of, and in priority to, the salary amounts owing to the non-Bahamian employees on work permits as well as all other creditors of Baha Mar, whether they be secured or unsecured. Moreover, if the government truly believes it has the legal right to offset amounts it purports to owe Baha Mar against the amounts Baha Mar purportedly owes the government (including all of its departments, agencies and corporations), then why have the amounts owing to Baha Mar not been applied in the first instance to reduce the various unpaid taxes and unpaid electricity bills owing by Baha Mar according to the winding up petition filed by the government. What gives our government the right to try and buy votes for political purposes by making these discriminatory salary payments, which payments are tantamount to the government cherry picking on its own whim which of Baha Mar's creditors are to be paid for political purposes without any regard whatsoever for the laws of our land. No doubt we can expect more of the same kind of cherry picking by government of favoured creditors to be paid for political purposes if Baha Mar is placed in liquidation. The government (Christie, Maynard-Gibson and Gomez in particular) will simply lean very heavily on the appointed liquidators and the Court to get done whatever the corrupt Christie-led PLP government wants done for its own purposes, and to hell with the law. This is precisely why Baha Mar and the Izmirlian family had absolutely no choice but to avail themselves of foreign courts in an effort to seek a just and fair outcome to their many legitimate grievances against the Chinese general contractor for the project. Our government, by its wrongful meddling and taking of sides in this matter, has caused almost irreparable and fatal damage to the very substantial efforts made over many years to see this project through to satisfactory completion at the earliest possible time.
Reality_Check 9 years, 4 months ago
It's indeed amazing that the Bahamian government is making these discriminatory salary payments without court approval if, as the government purports in its petition, Baha Mar is insolvent. These illegal salary payments being made by the government are for its own political purposes; the government is clearly using the Bahamian employees concerned as pawns. The salary payments undoubtedly constitute a fraudulent preference perpetrated by our government against the creditors and other stakeholders of Baha Mar, not to mention all Bahamians as taxpayers. All foreigners and foreign courts cannot help but notice our government's blatant and contemptuous disregard for the law in order to achieve its own greedy and vindictive agenda; an agenda that it apparently shares with the project's principal general contractor, CCA, and lender, CEXIMB.
realfreethinker 9 years, 4 months ago
The government apologists won't see your argument for the truth.They are blinded by the trumped up sovereignty red herring whipped up by their corrupt government
Stapedius 9 years, 4 months ago
Easy to solve. Just don't pay anyone. If you don't want to be pawns then their are consequences. Bahamian or non-Bahamian I say the government should never have set the precedence for such nonsense.
Greentea 9 years, 4 months ago
agreed!
Sickened 9 years, 4 months ago
Way is our government paying any private enterprises' salaries? We have a national insurance program for times like this. Are they admitting that our social security net is worthless?
realfreethinker 9 years, 4 months ago
What is wrong with this proposal ?
http://www.tribune242.com/news/2015/jul…
kairosmatt 9 years, 4 months ago
I find it interesting/sad that the government are paying workers now from other industries to do nothing. But I guess that just makes them regular government workers? Our government (all of them) just employ more and more people in order to control the voting public. Then the tax honest hard working people (what few there are) to support this habitat and to increase their own slush fund. I also would not be surprised if Perry and the other government crooks are trying to find a way where they can nationalize this project and keep all the profits for themselves.
Emac 9 years, 4 months ago
Tal, as I mentioned in an earlier post, you and Orthland Bodie don't know what side of the fence yinna wanna be. I mean-The two of you mix up like conch salad. At least we know that Birdie is a PLP brown-noser. But with you, one could never tell when you gon switch. I guess the cheque that was promised to you during the election campaign just arrived in the mail two weeks ago ay? I am sorry, but no sane or honest person Can defend anything that this present government does. They simply CANNOT be trusted! Plain and simple. Cut and dry. As far as I am concern, anyone who have anything positive to say 'bout them is either getting kick backs, or is as dumb as a door nail!
TalRussell 9 years, 4 months ago
Comrade Emac, I wouldd've been surprised at your comments, if it were not for Izmirlian, who just like Papa's inviting of the Haitian President leading up to the 2012 General, thinks he too can sit out on Cable Beach, just likes that other FOREIGNER, to be influencing the natives on how they should Vote, come 2017. May I add, sitting on damn lands he still hasn't paid a red penny for, owing to the very people he's telling who they should punish come the 2017 General. Have you NO shame, none at all? Tell Izmirlian to go dictate to he own CITIZENS, how they should Vote. In time he might just be punished by his OWN CITIZENS. Who knows, when the PM stops paying his workers (sitting around with nothing to do) he might get to experience, what it's like when your CITIZENS turn against your ways.
Baha10 9 years, 4 months ago
We should not be propping up private enterprise whatever the circumstances, if I go into business and run out of money like Izfailian, my problem to resolve or lose the business, end of story. As for apparently not also paying the foreign component of the Staff, one should note, including Izfailian that it is these very "experts" that possess skills that Bahamian's "supposedly" do not possess making them eligible for Work Permits, which have ultimately resulted in bankruptcy, so I suppose one could say, however ill advised this policy is, at least they are only looking after our own at the bottom of the Totem Pole.
Well_mudda_take_sic 9 years, 4 months ago
You sound like a Lyford Cay resident with a lot of envy and hate of the Izmirlian family. Sarkis would be willing to let you sit in the front pew of St. Paul's Church this coming Saturday evening (or Sunday morning if you so prefer) if it would make you feel any happier.
Concerned_about_Bahamas 9 years, 4 months ago
What about all the expats that actually worked the entire month of July and are not getting paid? Is that legal for the Bahamian government to block the U.S. Chapter 11, yet allow all the expats to go and work for an entire month and not pay them? It's not like the government didn't know--the Director of Human Resources at the Baha Mar is a Bahamian Citizen and directed all of them to report to work.
asiseeit 9 years, 4 months ago
There are about 400,000 Bahamians, why are these 2000 so important? This is a political move but what the government does not understand is the people of the Bahamas have made up their minds. This government MUST go, period. Perry and his band of thieves have proven themselves to be KLEPTOCRATES and more interested in amassing personal wealth than MANAGING and improving our country. F#(k the PLP they are the plague!
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