The Tribune

By ADRIAN GIBSON

ajbahama@hotmail.com

Move over Christopher Columbus, the Chinese have come to conquer us …. one island at a time.

Yet again, under another incarnation of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), we are a nation for sale.

Yet again, controversy swirls around one of Mr Christie’s worst, most politically errant ministers.

This week, The Nassau Guardian revealed that Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V Alfred Gray wrote a letter to Bahamas Ambassador to China Paul ‘Andy’ Gomez giving him permission to pursue a proposal for China to invest in our agriculture and fisheries industries.

According to the letter, the proposal revolved around the injection of some $2.1 billion into the Bahamian economy over 10 years. The $2.1 billion would consist of cash, farming and fishing equipment and Chinese expertise. This will involve the incorporation of 100 Bahamian companies, each of which will be owned 50­50 by Chinese and Bahamians, or Bahamian entities.

If the proposal is approved, the Government would reportedly lease, with an option to renew for additional years, some 10,000 acres of Crown Land in Andros that would be divided between the 100 companies.

Interestingly, since each of the 100 companies would feature 10 shareholders - presumably five Chinese and five Bahamian- one is curious about how the Bahamians would have been selected and who would collect the finder’s fee?

Mr Gray referred to the proposed agriculture and fisheries partnership as “very progressive”. He also pledged to grant each of the companies fishing licences whilst advising that actual fishing would have to be conducted by Bahamians per government policy. However, to assuage any concerns this might raise, he wrote that “foreign investors may own land and may participate in the ownership of related land-based activities, such as processing and packaging houses for agricultural and fishing products.”

In other words, the Chinese and their Bahamian partners (presumably government cronies) will own the boats, fishing equipment and fish houses but average Bahamians will be labourers employed to go out and catch the fish. This says a lot about what Mr Gray thinks of Bahamians! One can only assume that the Bahamians will be advised by Chinese “experts” who are well aware of how to drag literally every edible organism from the seabed.

Do we really believe that the Chinese would not want to fish aboard their fishing vessels? Surely, we haven’t forgotten the infamous Korean boat scandal and the unanswered questions about how those Koreans obtained work permits. Those fishing boats were also based around Andros.

It is not lost on me that the Chinese are seeking new fishing grounds now that fish stocks in the Asian Pacific region have been depleted.

At this rate, the Chinese will have taken over our number one industry with their purchase and/or control of Baha Mar and the British Colonial Hilton and now would be conquering our third largest economic prong - agriculture and fisheries. Their takeover is quiet and mild and is being assisted by political snake oil salesmen who are clearly causing us to become economic slaves, colonialised within our own ‘independent country’ and with no patrimony to pass on to generations yet unborn.

Interestingly, Mr Gray’s letter flies in the face of the purported rationale for the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI). I always viewed BAMSI as a slush fund for crafty politicians pretending to be working on behalf of the Bahamian people. I’m now more convinced given that BAMSI has not produced any staple crops on a large scale - or any scale. Could Mr Gray at least give an accounting for the quantity of pawpaw grown at BAMSI?

Following the initial report on Mr Gray’s proposal, the minister issued a statement calling the report “utterly false”.

In his response, he claimed that “the government is not considering the grant of Crown land nor any other matter as set out in the article”. Frankly, the contents of his letter proves that Mr Gray flat out lied. There are no two ways about that!

The letter suggests that preliminary discussions were held and that a final draft was pending and would require complex planning and drafting. It was a contractual offer that features key elements of a legal contract - ie parties, consideration, share acquisition and dispersal, mutuality of obligation, competency and capacity - and only awaited the Chinese Government’s acceptance.

What about your grandchildren Mr Gray? A foreign government, via corporate entities, now owns Baha Mar and the Hilton and you now want to turn over our land and our food security to this foreign government?

If Mr Gray and the PLP could readily give away Crown land to the Chinese, why are thousands of Bahamians waiting to be granted Crown land leases, some of them having applied 20 or 30 years ago?

What happened to Bahamian ownership of our economy? Wasn’t it the governing PLP who hawked themselves as believing in Bahamians?

Deputy Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis told the press that Gray’s proposal for a partnership with the Chinese for development of agriculture and fisheries in Andros was not before the government for consideration. So, was Mr Gray on a frolic of his own? Was the Cabinet unaware of his pursuits with the Chinese? Is Mr Gray running his own little fiefdom?

Prime Minister Perry Christie, the buck stops with you. You have some explaining to do Sir!

Our economic sovereignity is being thrown out of the window for a bowl of porridge and a bag of cheap Chinese fire crackers. And, no one is smiling!

If such a deal ever materialises, I would advise Bahamians to “dry” your conch now because, if the PLP and the Chinese have their way, in 20 years, conch would be an endangered species. I love scorch conch but at this rate, I would likely have to eat tofu (yuck), onions, sour and pepper with the tofu substituting for the conch we used to have.

What about national security concerns and spying?

After the Chinese purchased the Hilton - which is adjacent to the United States Embassy - the Americans made plans to relocate and the embassy purchased property on East Street, including the current building that houses Jones Communications. Did the US have concerns that the Chinese would spy on them from across the street?

With the proposal for the Chinese to invest in Andros, what happens to the United States Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) which is situated in Andros?

Weren’t the Chinese previously attempting to launch farming operations in Abaco and Andros?

Why destroy the magnificent ecosystems and splendiferous natural habitats that have become synonymous with Andros?

They are selling off our country piece by piece. Soon, we will be called “Chinhamas”.

We don’t know the full details of all the deals with the Chinese, but clearly there is much to be discovered. Perhaps we should all learn Mandarin as a second language.

The governing party has made it a habit of selling our land to foreigners for a pittance.

It was the Christie administration that transferred 9,999 acres of Crown land in Mayaguana to the I-Group. That deal was eventually renegotiated and 5,825 acres was returned. The same happened in Grand Bahama with the Ginn Development. And then there was the giveaway of Goodman’s Bay to Sarkis Izmirlian’s earlier incarnation of Baha Mar.

There are certain people who govern us who are nothing short of idiotic. Oh wow, just look at how they are giving away my son’s birthright (it’s not even about me any more; it’s about him and my future children)! Soon, China will be making a territorial claim.

China fatigue has set in. The clandestine and sealed deals with the Chinese, by those we elected to serve us, demonstrates a lack of regard and respect for we, the electors, and the urgent need for the implementation of a robust Freedom of Information Act.

The PLP does not believe in Bahamians. We must collectively put on our steel toe boots and give them a swift kick.

Comments and responses to ajbahama@hotmail.com