The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Senator Carl Bethel yesterday said from a legal stand point, there is nothing the FNM can do to force the judiciary to unseal documents related to the new deal to complete Baha Mar and open it before the end of the 2016/2017 winter season.

Mr Bethel, in an interview with The Tribune, explained that there is no legal basis for the political organisation to assert a right to know in court in connection to the sealed documents.

He said the matter comes down to a private sector dispute, with the government only as a third party creditor.

“In my view there is not,” Mr Bethel, who also gives legal advice the FNM, said when he was asked if there was anything that the FNM could do to make the records public.

“There’s no right to the information of other parties, that’s my view. We have no public interest right to have access to public documents. We have no Freedom of Information Act to ground such an application. We are not parties to any of the actions. It’s for the parties to take those steps to raise the issue.”

Marathon MP Jerome Fitzgerald yesterday also agreed, saying: “I don’t know under what standing anyone would have (to seek to have the documents unsealed). The court has made an order so I’m not sure who has standing other than the parties who are involved.”

These comments came after attorney Fred Smith, QC, insisted in The Nassau Guardian yesterday that the opposition along with Baha Mar stakeholders should demand a judicial review for the courts to disclose the deal signed between the government and the Export-Import Bank of China.

Mr Bethel dismissed this assertion and expressed doubt that it would end with success.

“I hear some smart QC. If he believes that let him get someone to pay him to do it, but I could assure you I don’t think he’d have any success.”

He continued: “There is no legal basis on which we can assert a right to the knowledge of for example Cabinet collusions or the processes arrived at by Cabinet. There is no basis on which we can assert a public right just to go to court and get an order of discovery against say a ministry of any initial controversy. There is no right.

“The government has gussied up the Baha Mar thing, but it’s still really only a private sector dispute with the government as a third party creditor.

“But at the end of the day it’s for the parties to raise these issues. There is no public policy mechanism to go in and apply for judicial review. What right do you have to do so with such a private sector deal?”

The government has been heavily criticised over the fact that the deal is hidden from public view. It has led Prime Minister Perry Christie several times to defend the government in an attempt to free it from any blame in this issue. He has said that the court documents were sealed at the request of the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM).

However, the backlash continues to persist.

On Sunday, the FNM announced that the party was collecting signatures for an online petition to demonstrate the level of public disgust over the sealed Baha Mar deal. It is the party’s latest move to increase pressure on the Christie administration to release all documents related to Baha Mar negotiations.

FNM Chairman Sidney Collie urged Bahamians to endorse the petition, reiterating the party’s stance that the prime minister was duty-bound to make the agreement public.

“Bahamians are shocked and dismayed that the Christie-led government requested that the deal this government made with the Chinese be sealed by the courts of The Bahamas,” he said in a statement.

“This petition gives the people a tangible way to voice their disgust at how the prime minister shrouded his secret deal with the Chinese, unwilling to allow the people to review the contents and see for themselves what has been decided about their future,” Mr Collie added.

However, according to Mr Christie, the agreement was sealed by the court at the request of the Export Import Bank of China (CEXIM).

“Bahamians if you are concerned about your future, the future of your children and grandchildren, the Free National Movement urges you to sign this petition.”

Mr Christie announced that a deal had been reached between the government and CEXIM to remobilise the stalled resort during a nationally televised press conference last month. However, he did not provide any clarity on a buyer or the sale price.