The Tribune

By Inigo ‘Naughty’ Zenicazelaya

THEY say time heals all wounds. I guess when billions of dollars and thousands of jobs are on the line those wounds heal faster than others.

Arrested development

It was quite interesting to hear Prime Minister Christie once again wax poetic about Baha Mar. After hosting the Inter-American Development Bank’s annual general meeting at the stalled resort’s convention centre, the PM talked about the “beauty and magnificence” of the place and questioned “what is stopping construction from resuming?”

Well, I can name four entities that immediately come to mind but for now I’ll focus on the apparent about-face the Christie administration has done with respect to developer Sarkis Izmirlian.

Less than a year ago, quite a few members of the Cabinet painted a picture of Mr Izmirlian as a “madman”. Between the PM, Minister Fred Mitchell and Minister Shane Gibson it seemed they would have the public believe Sarkis was just a “crazy joneser”.

But now that the Lyford Cay billionaire (yes, another one) has bounced back with a new offer to China EXIM Bank that would see the resumption of construction, it appears Izmirlian “ain’t dat crazy” after all.

Most curious to me was Mr Christie’s measured tone when he spoke of going to bat for the developer by reaching out to the Governor of the Central Bank of China and other high level Chinese investors, as well as writing to the EXIM bank on Izmirlian’s behalf. He didn’t use his usual flowery language that things would be “dead good real soon”. Instead, he spoke of how Izmirlian was “deserving” of consideration.

Say what? My, how times have changed!

A year ago, Mr Christie and Izmirlian went through a very public, nasty divorce. Now, they appear to be working hand-in-hand to save Baha Mar.

It reminds me of how some Bahamian men separate from their wives, put her out the house, stop paying the ‘chirren’ school fees, kick out the family potcake and fire the housekeeper. All so he can move in the new sweetheart – the one he swears will “get erryting”.

Fast forward a couple months to find out the “new gal” won’t cook, won’t clean, won’t even manage the household bills. The sweetheart might be pretty but is “only checkin” for herself. In other words, she a “Milk Maid” – she likes to “post up” and see what all she can “milk” from you.

Not a good situation to be in.

So what do most Bahamian men who find themselves in this predicament do? They call off the divorce and run back to reconcile with their spouse.

And so we have the PM and Izmirlian trying to save their relationship and their “baby” called Baha Mar.

In all honesty, I hope they work it out and manage to convince EXIM Bank to move forward on restarting construction at Baha Mar for the sake of the thousands of unemployed staff and construction workers.

Prime Minister Christie also (sort of) put his “shuffling” foot down by saying that he would “expect the construction site to reflect the agreement … a Bahamian to Chinese ratio of 70 to 30”.

When people start talking about “agreements” and the fine print, you know they are serious.

Not a bad chess move for Mr Christie.

So in the next few weeks we will see whether the PM will remain committed to Izmirlian, or once again try to have Mr Izmirlian committed. To Sandilands, probably.

Rabble rouser

It appears Bradley Roberts has a problem with the latest dump fire protest led by the group RABL (Raising Awareness about the Bahamas Landfill) who are calling on the government to do something about the toxic smoke that has been choking Bahamians for years.

Specifically, he has a problem with the fact that the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) joined the march that saw hundreds of Bahamians take to the Cable Beach strip to voice their outrage at the closing of the IDB’s annual general meeting.

Between this latest show of numbers and the one on Paradise Island, in which both the Free National Movement (FNM) and DNA showed support for keeping the current Cabbage Beach access point open to Bahamians and vendors, Mr Roberts is beginning to see the writing on the wall, and it’s causing him to see red.

No doubt the crime numbers (too high) and the jobs numbers (too low) spell gloom and doom for the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) chances in the next general election.

And so what does Mr Roberts do to save face for the PLP? He attacks the same democratic process that brought his party to power decades ago.

Too bad all his blustering won’t stop the billowing at the city dump site. And until that happens Bahamians ‘ain’t tuning in’ to anything much he has to say.

In fact, instead of making statements filled with more hot air, he should take the advice of the DNA and “have several seats”. Preferably not in front of a computer. The random press releases are getting really old.

Thumbs up,

thumbs down

Thumbs up to FNM Member for Long Island Loretta Butler-Turner for owning up to and apologising for parking her vehicle in the handicap parking space at Harbour Bay Plaza.

It’s one of my biggest pet peeves when I see able-bodied persons slide into that spot and skip into stores all because they don’t want to walk a thousand feet to the next available spot in these always over-crowded shopping centres.

But Mrs Butler-Turner owned up to her misjudgment, and her very public apology assures the public of her “transparency” and she won’t be caught in that predicament again.

Thumbs down to PLP Minister Fred Mitchell, whose vehicle (according to Facebook - which is never wrong) was also allegedly caught “park up” in a handicap spot. Unlike Loretta Butler-Turner, to my knowledge Minister Mitchell has not said “sorry”. Perhaps he should dive in his own “political garbage can” and dig us out an apology. The last time I checked, incompetence (even the most severe cases) were not recognised as an actual handicap.

Thumbs down to Minister for the Environment Kenred Dorsett for the veiled “mea culpa” press statement regarding the dump fires. It took hundreds of Bahamians marching to get Mr Dorsett to issue a release on the latest slate of fires at the landfill. Until we have a permanent, long-term solution for the city dump I would suggest Minister Dorsett blow his smoke elsewhere. Bahamians have had more than enough lately.

Thumbs down to Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald. He said recently the Freedom of Information Bill will “probably” be tabled in the House of Assembly by November of this year. We know. Just like Fitzgerald will “probably” tell us how he really got his hands on those private Save The Bays emails.

Until next week, I will leave politicians from all political factions with a great quote from Abraham Lincoln - “It is far better to be thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and prove it.” Who the cap fits...

• Inigo ‘Naughty’ Zenicazelaya is the resident stand-up comic at Jokers Wild Comedy Club at the Atlantis, Paradise Island, resort and presents ‘Mischief and Mayhem in da AM’ from 6am to 10am, Monday to Friday, and ‘The Press Box’ sports talk show on Sunday from 10am to 1pm on KISS FM 96.1. He also writes a sports column in The Tribune on Tuesday. Comments and questions to naughty@tribunemedia.net.