The country’s religious leaders weighed in on the Baha Mar debacle yesterday and called for all parties to put their differences aside and unite for a prayer walk for the $3.5 billion resort.
Speaking at the Trinity City Praise and the Commonwealth and Global Prayer Grotto on Tonique Williams Darling Highway, Senior Pastor Apostle Ed Watson said now is the time for divine intervention by God himself.
“As we walk, we will be praying together for the walls that have kept the resort from opening to come down,” he said. “We will also be lifting up prayers for our nation that God will indeed grant us a better Bahamas and the hands that have tied up economic prosperity will be released to our people.”
Pastor Watson was also joined by Ross Davis, senior pastor of Golden Gates World Outreach Ministries, who agreed with the walk of unity.
“We are in full agreement with what this prayer is about,” he said. “We believe it is now time to call in God. We lay aside all the hats that we wear and all the different sounds from where they come and we give ourselves to Him in prayer and ask Him to help us.”
The walk, being dubbed, the Jericho Prayer Walk for Baha Mar and a Better Bahamas, will be held on Saturday August 15 and is in response to the current position of Baha Mar, which has been at a standstill for several months.
For several weeks, there has been a war of words between the developer Sarkis Izmirlian and the Bahamian government.
The relationship took a downturn after Izmirlian filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an American court back on June 29, a move that took the Bahamian government by surprise.
Shortly after, the government has since filed a winding up petition that would place full control of the resort into the hands of a provisional liquidator.
Since then, the completion of the project has come to a halt, leaving more than 2,000 Bahamians in jeopardy.
Recently, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell criticized Izmirlian for what he referred to as attacks on Prime Minister Perry Christie and his unacceptable behaviour as an economic guest in The Bahamas.
In his Emancipation Day address, Mitchell also warned Izmirlian that if he failed to “cease and desist,” his permanent residency status could be revoked.
Only days later, Minister of Labour Shane Gibson defended Mitchell’s stance and went further – suggesting that psychological evaluations should become standard for all foreign investors seeking to do business in this country.
But not all Members of Parliament stood beside Mitchell’s message.
Fort Charlotte MP Dr, Andre Rollins referred to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration as an enemy of the state. He said the remarks made about Izmirlian should prompt concern among Bahamians regarding the future of the country with respect to democracy and economic issues.
Watson and Davis agreed that all Bahamians should come together for the common goal of prayer concerning this serious matter.
“This walk transcends across denominational barriers and titles. We all will march as one. No labels, no separate entities, just one church and one people.”
The walk will begin at 5:30 a.m. beginning at the parking lot of the Bahamas Development Bank Cable Beach. Participants will then proceed onto Cable Beach and around the perimeters of the Baha Mar resort.
