Former Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson.
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEY General Allyson Maynard-Gibson remained tightlipped yesterday when asked about the government’s pledge to have the sealed Supreme Court documents on the Baha Mar sale made public this month, saying “April is not over yet.”
The documents were sealed at the request of the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) and the government has described the move as a “commercial decision” undertaken by the bank to protect the sale process.
It is still unclear whether the official sale of Baha Mar to CTF BM Holdings, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong conglomerate, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd, has been finalised, nor is the resort’s sale price known. A legal petition to the court is required before documents relating to the sale of the resort to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) are unsealed.
Mrs Maynard-Gibson yesterday would not confirm whether the government has submitted such a petition, and in the face of questions from reporters simply repeated: “April is not over yet.”
Today is the last business day in this month.
After facing a fiery backlash for months over confirmation that the new deal to open Baha Mar was sealed, Prime Minister Perry Christie told reporters in January that Mrs Maynard-Gibson was directed to have the records made public at the “earliest opportunity”.
The Prime Minister added that his administration had no difficulty in accounting for what it negotiated to facilitate the opening of the West Bay Street mega resort.
The following week, Mrs Maynard-Gibson told reporters that the release of the sealed Supreme Court Baha Mar documents was “most definitely” expected before the opening of the mega resort.
While pinning the government down to a timeframe of the document’s release, Mrs Maynard-Gibson said at the time that she was currently in the process of being advised by attorneys in her office on how best to implement Mr Christie’s directive to have the Baha Mar heads of agreement released for public consumption, while protecting proprietary information.
She repeated the government’s position that the heads of agreement had nothing “unusual” contained in it, adding that providing incentives to investors in the country was not an unfamiliar practice.
Baha Mar staged the ‘soft launch’ of its first phase on April 21, and is slated to open its reservations portal on May 8.
The sealed deal has been a major point of contention for the Christie administration with opposition forces fanning speculation over possible concessions.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 6 months ago
Just like you often hear of the numbers' bosses having two sets of accounting books, one for themselves and one for the taxman (government), you can bet the Wicked Witch Maynard-Gibson has two sets of Baha Mar documents, one for the crooked politicians and their equally crooked Red China friends, and another for the Bahamian public. Without a Royal Commission of Enquiry we will never get to see the real documents, nor will we ever get to see the 'sweet' side-deals she and members of her immediate family have cut with the Hazelwood family and their mutual Chinese friends involving the leasing of thousands and thousands of square feet of prime retail store space within the Baha Mar complex
Tarzan 7 years, 6 months ago
Yes all correct and also April may not be over, but April's Fools Day is well passed.
jackflash 7 years, 6 months ago
They will release - but not everything - just what looks like they released something- the rest is still sealed under National Security.
sheeprunner12 7 years, 6 months ago
This creature MUST be locked up on May 11th ........... Hitler's spawn
alfalfa 7 years, 6 months ago
It is not over yet, but it will be on Sunday. Then what. Before election day. Promises, promises. we are used to the baseless rhetoric and government grandstanding. Even if something is released, can we believe it?
Greentea 7 years, 6 months ago
There are 13 hours left in April. I am waiting.
avidreader 7 years, 6 months ago
Perhaps the month of April will be extended by decree of the Prime Minister.
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 6 months ago
6 more hours. If nothing comes out by 11:59PM, well at least we can say they tried their best...
ohdrap4 7 years, 6 months ago
it was an pril fool's joke people, relax.
sheeprunner12 7 years, 6 months ago
Less than 3 hours left .............. anyone holding their breath????????
Based on the PLP chaos and revelations in the past week, this seems second-rate now
But there will be many PLP rocks to turn over and check for hidden records (BTC2%, Renew, Resolve, BOB, UR2.0, Bahamasair, Road Traffic, BPL, etc.)
Tarzan 7 years, 6 months ago
Hey, Allyson.... it be May 1! Where da beef?
casinojoe74 7 years, 6 months ago
well, april's over now... and that pretty much says it all...
Space 7 years, 6 months ago
Good Morning! Happy May 1st Ms AG! You got something for us?
Islandboy242242 7 years, 6 months ago
Where's the details Tribune? http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish… This is too vague and basic.
Reality_Check 7 years, 6 months ago
As usual, Mudda_Sic had it right in the first posting above!
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 6 months ago
Re-post: Many of the Baha Mar agreements should be found to have no legal validity in as much as they were knowingly entered into by a corrupt Christie-led government and equally corrupt foreign controlled enterprises with the aim of defrauding all Bahamian taxpayers. The Bahamian people have been unjustly harmed as a consequence of all the corruption involving the Baha Mar development. A properly conducted Royal Commission of Enquiry should have little difficulty in coming to such a conclusion.
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