Never one to mince words when it comes to the performance of the current administration is FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said the Christie administration’s move to seal Baha Mar’s deal from the public is the tactic to that of an authoritarian or dictatorship style regime.
“The Free National Movement condemns in the strongest possible terms the suspicious and undemocratic decision by the Christie led PLP government to request the Supreme Court of the Bahamas to put beyond the reach of the Bahamian people the agreement which it signed with China EXIM Bank to complete the Baha Mar project.
“The government must be aware that the agreement that they signed was executed by them on behalf of the Bahamian people and as a result, the government has a sacred duty to make the agreement public and not keep the details from the people.
“Only dictatorial and dishonest governments do the peoples’ business in the dark of night and hope that their deals never see the light of day,” Dr. Minnis said.
Dr Minnis reiterated that if elected, his party will cancel all agreements of the deal which he finds disadvantages the Bahamian people.
“We wish to put both the Government and the Chinese on notice that once in office an FNM Government in the sunshine will expose the agreement to the Bahamian people if this government does not, so that any part of it that is not in the interest of the Bahamian people or that would put them in further jeopardy would be cancelled.
“We in the FNM are at a complete loss as to why this PLP Government is afraid to tell our Bahamian people how much of the country was given away by them in return for the opening of the casino hotel and golf course at Cable Beach,” Dr. Minnis said.
Minnis then challenged the government to refute the rumored exorbitant amount of concessions that have been linked to the deal.
“We challenge the government to deny that the concessions, in the secret under the table deal, with the Chinese does the following:
Gives the right to automatic citizenship to hundreds of Chinese nationals.
Leases thousands of acres of Bahamian land at a fire sale price to the Chinese.
Provides over a thousand work permits to Chinese nationals to do work that Bahamian workers can do.
Provides the exemption from payment of VAT and payment of hotel and Casino taxes for a specified period of time,” Dr. Minnis said.
Dr. Minnis also brought up the most favoured nation clause in the Atlantis Resort agreement, which says the government may be made to match any additional concessions given to Baha Mar further reducing the taxes payable to government.
Minnis would go on to add that the Free National Movement is committed to enacting A Freedom of Information Act that would make it unlawful for the Government to make secret deals with foreign entities and then run to the courts to protect its secrecy.
