The Tribune

WE HOPE that Prime Minister Perry Christie’s confidence that those who scoff at his optimism over the opening of Baha Mar will join him in celebrating its success when the $3.5 billion resort — now attracting unflattering world attention – opens.

Our opinion is that our naive prime minister is being led astray by Beijing whose leaders have no interest in the future of Baha Mar, nor are they concerned about unpaid Bahamian contractors or unemployed Bahamians. After all, The Bahamas, composed of a string of little coral islands 7,862 miles from Beijing, is of little interest to a country, whose economy, according to one commentator, has recently “gone to hell in a hand basket”.

In the past few weeks, China has lost 15 per cent of its equity capital. Said another commentator: “Fears have heightened over China’a ailing economy and with confusion towards the unexpected devaluations leaving market participants questioning Beijing’s overall policy intentions; global sentiment may remain heavily depressed.”

And so what is the importance of a $3.5 billion resort left shuttered on a tiny island compared to China’s current problems? To any of us, a $3.5 billion investment would demand our undivided attention, to the Chinese, unless politically driven, it is best forgotten. And that, unfortunately, is what these observers are predicting for Baha Mar.

In November, Prime Minister Perry Christie said he warned the China Export-Import Bank that his Government will not compromise its position that Baha Mar’s Bahamian contractors must be paid the full $74m owed them. Doesn’t he realise that China Export-Import Bank is really the ruling party in Beijing and now the owners of Baha Mar? Mr Christie is not dealing with a private bank as we know it in our western culture. And today he is in no position to write “very strong letters” to the owners of the foreclosed resort.

“My concern has been very clear; one, that construction resumes as quickly as possible,” Mr Christie said of the Bahamas Government’s position. “I impressed upon them (the bank) that there is to be no compromise on paying the Bahamian contractors, who are owed significant sums of money, on a dollar-to-dollar basis.

“Three, that if we are able to be certain when construction will resume, the Government of The Bahamas, on the basis that we would be reimbursed in part or in whole, would then move to be able to cause the people who are unemployed to become employed.”

Beijing owns Baha Mar. Prime Minister Christie is in no position to dictate to them what they should do with it. And, according to our sources, China has no intention of reimbursing anybody — despite what they might say to Mr Christie’s face.

Mr Christie was pleased that interest has been shown by a “very significant number of world-class operators,” but we understand that these “operators” are not getting much encouragement from China Export Import Bank.

Apparently the word “foreclosure” — the state that Baha Mar is now in— does not exist in the Chinese language. Potential investors looking for a bargain should forget it. In the communist world, there is no concept of a free capital market. We understand that the bank has told all bidders that there will be no discounts — whatever Baha Mar cost on the books will be the selling price. We understand that at least one person, who seemed to be making a most attractive offer, was turned off because of the bank’s lack of co-operation even to the point of refusing to release information that the prospective bidder needed to make his offer. It would appear that the Chinese are prepared to sit on that large piece of Cable Beach property and do nothing. After all, we were told, all their decisions are politically driven.

“That is why in all these cities built in China there are so many vacant buildings,” said our informant. “These banks are not really commercial banks as we know them. They are policy banks. They provide financing for projects that will further the party’s objectives, not necessarily the objects of a particular project. With them its politics.”

And so, was our theory — expressed in this column last year — that Baha Mar was only important to Beijing because — like Hutchinson Whampoa in Freeport — of its strategic proximity to the US, and not necessarily because of a desire to operate a world class resort?

As though China’s fiasco at Cable Beach is not bad enough– especially with the performance of China Construction Company — in February last year Daniel Liu, China Construction Company’s senior vice-president, urged the government to quickly “make a decision” on the proposed masterplan to revitalise downtown Nassau. He described Bay Street as an “unfulfilled dream” for 50 years that, to date, had failed to move forward. Here is the same Beijing-owned company at the core of the Baha Mar disaster planning to redesign downtown Nassau – the centre of the Bahamas government —and turn it into a “Bahamian Riviera”.

What other development does Beijing — through its state-owned companies – have in The Bahamas?

In January last year, Mr Christie as a delegate to the CELAC-CHINA (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum held in Beijing announced that he intended to request funding from China to support our national budget, and to refinance and restructure the country’s debt.

It is now time for Mr Christie to inform us just how deeply this country is involved with China.

Also it is time to explain a press release sent to the media on Thursday that China has given our government $1.2m to purchase military equipment for the Defence Force. Among the 33 items of equipment were listed two armoured vehicles, two 38 automatic anti-riot grenade launchers, 10,038 smoke tear gas grenades, anti-riot gear sets, (and) portable low-light level night vision goggles.”

Many Bahamians are alarmed and want to know who we are planning to invade, or who is planning to invade our islands, or whether, as one letter writer has asked: “Is this perhaps an early indicator that our own civil liberties and personal freedoms may soon be under assault?”

We think that all 33 items should be published with an explanation given of government’s intent. And if this is Beijing’s idea remind them that we are not Hong Kong, rather we are still an independent country and a part of the (British) Commonwealth of Nations. Now is the time for Mr Christie to stand up and defend our “sovereignty”.