Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis yesterday urged the government to come clean and reveal what deals it has made with the Chinese regarding the future of the multi-billion dollar Baha Mar project.

Last June 29, work at the Cable Beach property came to an abrupt halt after the project’s developer filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court. Since then, the resort has terminated thousands of employees and many local contractors remain unpaid.

During the wrap up of the 2016/2017 Budget debate in the House of Assembly last week, Prime Minister Perry Christie assured that negotiations continue between his government and the Chinese stakeholders.

Mr. Christie also dismissed assertions that there was some special relationship between the government and the Chinese.

However in a statement yesterday, Dr. Minnis maintained that the government was not being completely honest with the Bahamian people.

The Chinese “assured” the Government one year ago that they would finance and complete the $3.5 billion Bah Mar project in return for the Government lending its assistance to remove the Chapter 11 bankruptcy from the American Jurisdiction,” Dr. Minnis said.

“The result is that we are still sitting here with an empty uncompleted Baha Mar a year later, and over 2,000 Bahamians still without their construction jobs and Bahamian contractors are owed $74 million without any guarantee that they will get paid. In the meantime the 5,000 jobs that were promised are still unfulfilled.”

Dr. Minnis charged that the prime minister’s claim of a framework agreement on the Baha Mar project is merely a farce and according the government’s own lawyers “this agreement is only to continue to talk and is not an agreement on opening up the Baha Mar Project.”

““The PLP Government continues to show complete ineptitude in their dealings with Baha Mar and putting Bahamians back to work,” Dr. Minnis said. “The Bahamian people deserve transparency in their government and it is currently lacking. This Government needs to come clean and tell the Bahamian people what deals they have made with the Chinese and why they have not protected Bahamians in this project.

“There is much left to be desired in the transparency of the Baha Mar Project. I call on the prime minister to lay on the table all reports and agreements they have with all parties so Bahamians can judge for themselves whether this government is working for them.”