Leader of the Free National Movement, Dr. Hubert Minnis said he stands with the “disenfranchised” employees of Baha Mar, echoing the sentiments that the prime minister should answer their concerns about what is going on with Baha Mar.

“These good people have had their lives completely turned upside down because of this government’s failures and inability to follow through,” Dr. Minnis said in a press statement.

Dr. Minnis said the government has taken a “hands off approach” in terms of protecting the livelihoods of Bahamians.

“They have failed to make any progress on getting the Baha Mar opened, changed their minds several times about who should be in charge of it, provided zero transparency in regards to the status of their negotiations and failed to keep the former employees up to speed,” he said.

“The Baha Mar debacle is sadly just a number on a long list of failures that the Prime Minister and his government have overseen, unfortunately it is the employees and the taxpayers who are left footing the bill and having their lives turned upside down while the PLP tells everyone how great things are going,” Dr. Minnis added.

The Opposition leader said it is imperative that Mr. Christie take the concerns of the former employees into consideration, as he said it is that group which has been adversely affected by the debacle.

“The prime minister must answer the disenfranchised employees’ questions because he represents them and he does not represent foreign owned companies. The prime minister must make a choice; does the Bahamian government represent the people or foreign corporation,” he said.

Over the weekend, displaced Baha Mar employees pleaded with Prime Minister Perry Christie to not allow China Construction America to be the general contractor or the eventual owner of the beleaguered resort.

The group asserted that there are Bahamians who are quite capable of completing the resort’s construction as they said The Bahamas does not need to become a Chinese colony.

Baha Mar’s developer filed for bankruptcy protection in the US on June 29, 2015, however the Supreme Court then rejected the resorts application so that the matter may be recognized in The Bahamas.

Baha Mar went into receivership in October 2015.