A section of the Baha Mar resort.
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis does not intend to apologise for his shifting position on Baha Mar or for criticising the former Christie administration’s handling of the project, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said yesterday.
Months after claiming he would initiate a “real sale” of Baha Mar once elected, Dr Minnis attended a lavish ceremony on Friday to mark the opening of the SLS, the latest significant development at Baha Mar since the Christie administration’s controversial efforts to get the resort open.
Official Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis told The Nassau Guardian Monday that Dr Minnis was a “hypocrite” for praising Baha Mar’s current owners and for not acknowledging that he was wrong about the resort’s fate while he was in opposition.
Mr Newbold said “absolutely not” when asked if Dr Minnis believes he should apologise for his handling of the Baha Mar matter as Mr Davis wants him to.
Mr Newbold also sidestepped questions about whether Dr Minnis thanks or credits the former Christie administration for efforts that have now resulted in the opening of the two of the hotels at Baha Mar.
“I think when you ask about the prime minister apologising for shifting his position, he’s never shifted his position for wanting Baha Mar to open and providing jobs for the Bahamian people,” Mr Newbold said at his weekly press briefing. “He always said so much of the assets of the Bahamian people are invested in this project, you better open this hotel man, so that Bahamians can benefit. There’s no need for the prime minister to apologise.”
Asked if Dr Minnis thanks the PLP for its efforts, Mr Newbold said: “He wants the hotel to open. There are any number of reasons that have been positive as to why the hotel has not been opened and the role the PLP administration played in that. The prime minister wants the hotel open. He does not intend to apologise to anyone nor feels he should be apologising to anyone for wanting the assets of the Bahamian people to benefit them. “That’s the bottom line. The assets of Bahamian people are tied up in this property, so open it up and we could argue about a lot of things after that.”
In March, Dr Minnis posted on his Facebook page that he would “engage and execute a real sale” of the Baha Mar resort “to a qualified and respectable purchaser who believes in Bahamians,” should the FNM win the next general election.
This statement came months after then-Prime Minister Perry Christie announced the official sale of Baha Mar to CTF BM Holdings, a subsidiary of CTFE last December, at the time stating the resort was set for a phased opening beginning in April 2017, and a full completion by this fall.
However, it was later revealed that Baha Mar’s Rosewood hotel is not expected to open until later next year.
Ahead of the general election, Dr Minnis did not attend the soft opening of the Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar. At the time, the FNM called the Grand Hyatt’s soft opening “fake.”
Comments
TalRussell 7 years ago
Splish, splash, the two man's goin be takin a baptism bath in Nassau's harbour, right after the red shirts cabinet does toss the two them from the Churchill Building - into the harbour's waters.
Comrades 'ACE-CEE' and Minnis are like two peas in a pot on a hot stove in the Red Shirts Titanic's kitchen.They thinks alike and says darndest weirdest things, and the two them boarded the Red Shirts soon doomed sink Titanic, together. Every sector imaginable stretched across the Bahamaland and Freeport, are laughin at these two peas.
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years ago
In Minnis's words: "Ya stupid voters get swing in da election campaign - I ain't driving West no more - and it ain't no longer da people's time - it's my time, and I now driving East!"
sealice 6 years, 12 months ago
Lets get it open... .the fact that it's imminent collapse (physically because its a dump with a nice paint job) is not important....
birdiestrachan 6 years, 12 months ago
Only real men and women apologize. Small men and women do not. Donald Trump of the USA does not apologize. So who would expect the Donald roc with doc Trump to apologize.
The Proud and mighty always fall from their self made thrones.perch.
TalRussell 6 years, 12 months ago
Comrade, real man's certainly do cry. The Donald is not one them but he is a selfish crybaby unfit be president of a Banana Republic - much less the USA. A complete Jackass with small hands. No worry Haitian nationals, The Donald will have done been evicted out the White House - before 2019. The red shirts cabinet, should reject the man's appointment as US Ambassador to the Bahamaland.
sheeprunner12 6 years, 12 months ago
Bahamar has opened in phases ........ It should have been built in phases as well ....... Then we will not have been in this conundrum with Izzie and the Chinese.
John 6 years, 12 months ago
At this point in time Minnis would be foolish to say or do anything to stall or even lessen the already slow and delayed progress at Bah Mar. And those gooseying him to do otherwise are only being politically mischievous. Bahamians are hurting, the economy is shrouded in doom and gloom. In fact is is still shrinking. And to interfere with the little ray of hope on the horizon is worse than political suicide. It would be treason. And as a yardstick to measure how bad things really are in this country economically, despite Bah Mar being years delayed no new project or new investment initiatives have been announced. So there should be a concerted effort to keep Bah Mar moving and make it successful.
stillwaters 6 years, 11 months ago
I just wish we could remove politicians completely from these types of projects.
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