The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

AFTER months of fierce scrutiny levelled at the government over the sealing of documents related to the new deal to open Baha Mar, Prime Minister Perry Christie told reporters yesterday that Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson has been directed to have the records made public at the “earliest opportunity”.

The prime minister added that his administration has no difficulty in accounting for what it negotiated to facilitate the opening of the shuttered $3.5bn West Bay Street mega resort.

Once the documents are placed in the public domain, Mr Christie said Bahamians will see that what is contained in them will reveal the “most brilliant” set of negotiations in the country’s history.

Notwithstanding what critics have said about the deal, the prime minister reiterated that his administration did not ask the Supreme Court to seal the Baha Mar deal. He repeated earlier comments that this was a “commercial decision” made by the lawyers representing the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM).

Last month, Mr Christie announced the official sale of Baha Mar to CTF BM Holdings, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong conglomerate, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd.

Apart from failing to reveal the cost at which the shuttered resort was sold, Mr Christie at the time spoke minimally of the details surrounding this development, adding that the deal was still sealed by the Supreme Court at the request of CEXIM.

“I have spoken often about the need to get Baha Mar going,” Mr Christie said during a press conference at his office on West Bay Street to announce that negotiations were complete to allow the Bahamas to have control over its airspace from the United States.

“We have negotiated at length on Baha Mar and notwithstanding what has been said we did not (and) we were not the principle persons to ask the court to keep the information hidden away from the Bahamian public.

“That was a commercial decision made by the lawyers of the bank and our attorney general is under direction from this Cabinet that at the earliest opportunity the government of the Bahamas should move to have the documentation before the court made public.

“We have no difficulty whatsoever of being able to account for what we have negotiated and I can tell you this, in the history of this country, that will go down as one of the most brilliant set of negotiations ever done in advancing the cause of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.”

Mr Christie further pointed to the positions of international rating agencies, specifically Moody’s, saying it had decided to side with the government in agreeing to wait for further developments before making pronouncements on the economy.

“With respect to Baha Mar, again Baha Mar has announced that starting this month they’ll begin employment. We’ve indicated before that the difference between the government’s thinking and that of Standard and Poor’s, the rating agency, the government and Moody’s have to date taken the same position.

“There are two rating agencies, Moody’s is one and Standard and Poor’s the other. The government and Moody’s have taken the view that let us look at the developments before we make a judgment of Baha Mar and we’re indicating that immediately in the year 2017 that the Bahamas will begin to feel the impact of the new ownership at Baha Mar through employment and through construction of Bahamian subcontractors who are on the site.

“So, yes, we are anticipating that this is a meaningful economic development for the country and that my government when we look at what we have done can truly be pleased with major advances we have made in always addressing the major issues confronting governance in our country and never ever trying to hideaway or ignore the obligation to move our country forward.

“And so I am pleased. I must tell you I am pleased with this because I have spoken often about the flight information region. I have spoken often about the need to get Baha Mar going.”

Last September, the Free National Movement announced it was collecting signatures for an online petition to demonstrate the level of public “disgust” over the sealed Baha Mar deal.

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

He said: “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.

“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.”

However, the petition never gained solid footing.

Mr Christie first announced that a deal had been reached between the government and CEXIM to remobilise the stalled resort during a nationally televised press conference last August.

The FNM has railed against the secrecy surrounding the deal, citing mounting public distrust in the Christie-led government amid speculation over the concessions given by the government.

Mr Christie has repeatedly defended the move to keep the court documents sealed. Last year he maintained that such a process was standard and that global businesses cannot be expected to conduct their “sensitive negotiations” in the media.

On the controversial issue of concessions, he said China Construction America (CCA) would be given the same concessions by his government that were given under the Hotel Encouragement Act by the former Ingraham administration.