The Tribune

RESPECTED radio talk show host and attorney Jeffrey Lloyd has called for Prime Minister Perry Christie to step down as leader of this country, citing the results of the last two referendums as votes of no confidence in him and his administration.

Mr Lloyd was the guest on radio show “Real Talk Live” with host Ortland Bodie on Tuesday, when he said that Mr Christie no longer has the moral authority to lead The Bahamas and has lost the mandate to govern this country.

He also called for the Christie administration to cease any negotiations for the sale of Baha Mar until after the next general election.

Despite his eagerness to see the resort opened, Mr Lloyd warned that with the prime minister in such a desperate state politically, he is incapable of negotiating a deal that would protect the Bahamian people over his Chinese counterparts.

As the project has sat idle now for over a year, Mr Lloyd said the Chinese government is no doubt very much aware of the 2017 general election fast approaching, and the level of desperation the prime minister now finds himself in.

This, he said, was evidenced by the recent reports that Chinese investors had requested 500 citizenship approvals, a 30-year exemption from casino license payments and a 30-year break from value added tax (VAT) among other concessions, just for the restart of construction at the property.

Last month, Mr Christie said the government did not agree to any citizenship grants, however he did not specifically address the other reported requests from the Chinese.

With this in mind, Mr Lloyd warned the Export Import Bank of China (EXIM Bank), China Construction America (CCA), and any would-be Chinese investors, that if he were to become prime minister any deal made by this administration would be revoked immediately.

“I want to say this to the Chinese,” Mr Lloyd said. “I want to make this very clear to the Chinese.

“When I become the prime minister of the Bahamas, and I want you to understand this, I don’t care what you have agreed with Mr Christie, that deal, that contract, on the day I become prime minister will be cancelled.”

He added: “Here is a government, and here is a prime minister, who is scraping for their political lives.

“They are in this moment I believe seeking some kind of accommodation with the Chinese. They are right now I believe doing some type of negotiations with the Chinese.

“I believe that this government does not have the moral authority to negotiate a single thing on our behalf with anybody until such time as an election is called and a new mandate is given by the representatives of the people.

“It is quite clear that Bahamians no longer have faith. This administration has failed on a myriad of issues,” he said.