The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Government has committed to resolving the New Providence landfill’s woes by year-end December 2017 as part of its Heads of Agreement with Baha Mar’s new owner.

The Christie administration’s April 25, 2017, Heads of Agreement with Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), released last night, stipulates that any failure by the Government to resolve the landfill’s problems by that date will be treated as “a force majeure” event.

If that occurs, then CTFE and its Baha Mar-owning affiliate will be released from performing their Heads of Agreement obligations for as long as it takes to remediate the landfill’s problems, although the Hong Kong-based conglomerate will keep its investment incentives.

The Heads of Agreement’s clause 15.2 states: “The Government acknowledges, and will undertake to ensure, that the environment for the guests of the resort is pleasant and enjoyable.

“The parties recognise that the Government shall commence and diligently purse remediation, and improve operation and management of the Harrold Road landfill.”

December 31, 2017, is given as the date by which the Government must “address the foregoing concerns”.

The landfill heads the Government’s ‘infrastructure improvements’ commitments to CTFE and Baha Mar, which probably explains its haste to initiate the Request for Proposal (RFP) and give bidders just eight days to submit detailed management and remediation plans.

Tribune Business sources have revealed that just two bids had been submitted when the proposals were formally opened at the Ministry of Finance on Monday, with one of the offers coming from the Bahamian Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG) and its partner, Providence Advisors chief, Kenwood Kerr.

The landfill appears to have been prioritised above Baha Mar’s energy needs, which requires the Government and Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) to “address reliable and consistent supply of electricity on the island of New Providence, which will include the ability to meet the requirements of the project”.

This involves the installation “of all supporting infrastructure necessary to support secure and dependable electricity supplies to the project, without the need for unusual load-shedding or other interruption in electricity supply to the project”.

Again, this must be completed by December 31, 2017, which could well prove a tall order for the Government and BEC/BPL, given that both are cash-strapped, and based on the utility’s past performance.

Finally, in the list of extensive infrastructure commitments that the next government will be bound by, the Christie administration has pledged to complete a waste treatment facility from the Water & Sewerage Corporation - also by December 31, 2017.

Sensitive to the constant accusations regarding the alleged ‘lack of transparency’ surrounding the Baha Mar deal, the Government and CTFE have also included an Anti-Corruption clause at clause 28.

This states that neither the Government, nor CTFE or its entities, have offered - directly or on their behalf - anything that could be construed as a bribe “for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of any public official”. It binds both sides’ top executives to comply with these anti-corruption provisions.

Clauses 2 and 3.1 of the Heads of Agreement were “intentionally omitted”.