The Tribune

By SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts has said it is "inexcusable" for the Free National Movement to "take a 10-week vacation" without tabling "one single bill in Parliament."

At the PLP's Eastern Region Service of Thanksgiving on Friday evening, Mr Roberts said instead of creating more jobs and addressing the crime situation, the Minnis-led government has done nothing but "raise the unemployment rate" by letting contract workers go and "engage in witch hunts to satisfy their rabid political base."

Last week, parliamentarians took a break for the summer and will return to the House of Assembly on September 13.

"It has been 40 days since the FNM assumed office and for a group who was so critical of the PLP's governance, it is inexcusable that the Minnis crew could not table one single bill in Parliament in 40 days and took a 10-week vacation break," Mr Roberts said.

"No new crime fighting strategies; no new immigration policies; no energy reform policies; no strategy for growing the economy and creating jobs. As a matter of fact, the FNM has distinguished themselves for lining the pockets of their fat cat friends and donors while conducting mass firing on contract workers in the civil service for purely political reasons...

"No VAT money was stolen; no 500 citizenships were offered in exchange for Baha Mar investment; no 10,000 acres of land in Andros were given to the Chinese; the Baha Mar Heads of Agreement was not corrupt as Minnis claimed," he added.

Mr Roberts said it also appears that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has "double crossed" original Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian and now "refuses to discuss Baha Mar with the press."

Last month, despite the FNM's suggestions on the campaign trail that the now unsealed Baha Mar documents may have been troubling, Attorney General Carl Bethel admitted that the documents contain nothing "unusual" that would prompt the government to renegotiate its terms.

Dr Minnis announced in Parliament in June that the heads of terms relating to Baha Mar's sale was approved for release by the Supreme Court, which he tabled in the House of Assembly. However, he added that other "sensitive" documents relating to the sale remain under a court seal.

"Carl Bethel, Dr Minnis, (Dionisio) D'Aguilar and the entire FNM government now publicly, though grudgingly admit that the commercial agreement between CTFE and the China EXIM Bank must remain sealed due to 'market sensitivity' issues, a fact former Prime Minister Christie told the FNM and the nation over and repeatedly," Mr Roberts said.

"Carl Bethel, Dr Hubert Minnis and Dionisio D'Aguilar now publicly, though grudgingly, admit that it was the Bahamas Supreme Court that sealed the Baha Mar deal and not Perry G Christie."

Last Wednesday, The Nassau Guardian reported that Dr Minnis told that newspaper he would not interfere in the Baha Mar matter.

When pressed about this later that same day, Dr Minnis appeared to get defensive.

"Listen I told you over and over," Dr Minnis told a reporter. "I don't know what about the English language you don't understand. The government, just like the Bahamian people, we want to see Baha Mar functioning to provide jobs and opportunities for Bahamians and we'll work towards that goal."

Pressed further for his position on former Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian's plea for a moratorium on the sale process, Dr Minnis said: "I have answered you. I told you our position. We would like to see Baha Mar opened and provide job opportunities for Bahamians."

He did not respond to a question on whether he was going to review the hotel's file.